Obituary of Raymond J. Haack

Raymond J. Haack, a long time resident of Yonkers, NY passed away peacefully on November 30, 2012. He previously resided in the Bronx, NY and enjoyed his summers in Chester, CT. Ray was born in Hempstead, Long Island, NY on January 10, 1929 with his twin brother Rudolph, to Frida Schmitt Haack and Rudolph Haack. He was raised in Manhattan and married Sarah Lieboff on April 23, 1950. Sarah and Ray were married 62 yrs. and blessed by God with six children, 14 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild and 1 expected in Feb. 2013: Janet (Louis) Jones - Long Island, NY - Children: Jamie (Travis), Carrie, Katie, Michael Robert (Christine) Haack - New Fairfield, CT - Children: Caitlin, Joshua, Devin Steven Haack - Columbus, Ohio Jeffrey (Karen) Haack - Yonkers, NY - Puppy: Peaches Laura Knudsen - Long Island, NY - Children: Precious (Joe & baby Charlotte), David, Jonathan (Lauren & baby-to-be), Cherish, Byron, Derrick & their father, Ronald Knudsen Raymond (Tammy) Haack - Gramby, CT - Child: Raymond Ray worked as a Refrigeration Engineer for Local 94 in NYC and was promoted to Building Manager for Cross & Brown Co. He retired in 1994. Ray and his wife Sarah were involved in many church activities at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Yonkers, NY for over 30 years. He was a Church Lector and Leader at St. Paul's Prayer Group. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Paul's on Mon., Dec. 3 and burial followed at Fountain Hill Cemetery in Deep River, CT. Euology Our parents' marriage was a gift from a God. To the world it was crazy…Ray, a German Catholic and Sarah, a Russian Jew. But as we have come to know God, He loves to take crazy situations and turn them around and have good come out of them. When Dad was 12, his mother asked her friend, a NYC policeman, for help. She sent her 'Little Ray of Sunshine' to Graymoor, a boys' camp where he met the policeman's son, Dan Egan, who would later become Fr. Dan, and marry Mom & Dad. You see, unbeknown to his mother, Dan was becoming a Franciscan priest that would help many people on their journey thru life. Fr. Dan married them on April 23, 1950. They have six children…Janet, Robert, Steven, Jeffrey, Laura Beth & Raymond; 14 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild, and another coming in February. As they were raising us, our parents worked hard to stay together for the sake of us children. Then for their 25th anniversary, God gave us all the gift of the 12 Step Program, and from that moment on, our family has never been the same. God has healed our family, spiritually & emotionally. We were all introduced to the Program some how or other. And throughout this process, we witnessed our parents' love for each other, and for God, grow by leaps & bounds. They went from just 'Sunday church people' to having God in their lives 24 hrs/day. They attended all different meetings, retreats, trips together, far & near. They brought true healing & deeper love to all of us. As time went on, they began to say 'The Divine Mercy' prayer everyday, for all the intentions of their family & friends. Recovery has touched everyone they've met. We are very grateful to God & the 12 Step Program. We have seen subtle changes take place in Dad over time. He truly transformed into a 'man of God', teaching us by example. We learned many valuable lessons, such as praising God in all things, no matter what happens in life. Dad worked hard to make sure we all had everything we needed, from a Catholic school education to 'fun in the sun' in Chester, CT, at a place most of us fondly know as "Haack's Shack". Those summer days were truly 'a little bit of Heaven' for all of us. We believe Dad is in Heaven now…sitting on the deck with his cup of coffee in hand, reading his spiritual books & newspaper, & praying for Mom and all of us! Thank you God for your 'Amazing Grace', and for OUR DAD! As Matthew 25:21 says, "Well done, thou good & faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of the Lord." As my sister & I were writing this, crossing out & making changes, all we could do is keep from laughing as we thought of Dad watching over us, sitting with hand on his chin, saying, "Any day now…!" Oh…and by the way, "Poor Grandpa" was never really poor…he has always been richly blessed by God…