Obituary of Shirley Haas

Shirley Jean Erickson was born on December 15th, 1930 in Great Falls, Montana and was named after famous child actress, Shirley Temple. She was raised primarily by her grandparents in Karmel Township near Princeton, MN after the tragic death of her mother when she was only 5 years old. Shirley's grandmother and grandfather were immigrants from Europe and she learned Swedish while sitting quietly in the parlor when the neighborhood ladies met to fellowship. For most of her life she could understand the language only when those around her were speaking it and she was listening. In 1945, Shirley was sent to live in the Twin Cities after the death of her grandmother. She lived with various relatives and worked to earn her keep while attending secondary school at West High School. After graduation in 1949, she attended Trinity Bible College in Chicago, IL and completed a certification course in 1952. Shirley returned to Minneapolis to take a job at the Evangelical Free Church headquarters. She met her future husband, Harold Haas, while attending Salem Evangelical Free Church. They became engaged and married on July 16, 1955. Two years later, their first son, Kent Jonathan was born and 18 months after, Kevin Arthur followed. They welcomed their third son, Christopher Allan in 1962 but tragically lost a baby girl, Lori Jean, after only a few days of life in 1964. Shirley and Harold completed their family in 1969 by adopting daughter, Deborah Anne, from the Children's Home Society of Minnesota. Shirley & Harold raised their family while living in the western suburbs of Minneapolis and attending several Evangelical Free churches along the way. Deeply committed to her family and friends, Shirley was also devoted to her faith in God and her Christian community, giving of herself and her time with a generous heart. She was always the first to reach out and help someone in need and would often give more than she was able to afford, be it physically, emotionally or financially. Her faith never wavered, however, and when she and her husband retired to Lindstrom, MN in 1991, she continued to extend a helping hand to those around her. In 1996, Shirley suffered a serious setback in her health when she underwent open-heart surgery. Due to complications with diabetes her recovery was protracted and she suffered permanent damage to her heart. Despite failing health, Shirley continued to participate with her community and her church, giving of her time and energy in both Crosslake, MN and Tucson, AZ. One of her greatest joys was spending time with her grandchildren, Alex and Madison Haas, and she proudly shared their accomplishments with everyone to whom she became acquainted. Last May, Shirley was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She gradually weakened as her heart function diminished and she passed away, peacefully, in the presence of her husband on Saturday, August 9th at the Good Samaritan-Bethany Society in Brainerd, MN. She is preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Florence and her brothers, Larry and Dennis. Shirley will be greatly missed by her husband, Harold, her children, Kent, Kevin, Christopher (Jennifer) and Deborah, her grandchildren, Alex and Madison, her sisters Lois, Jessie and RuthAnn and many cousins, nieces and nephews. Memorials are preferred to Tandala Hospital, Congo and The Log Church building fund. A memorial service will be held at Crosslake Evangelical Free Church (The Log Church) on Wednesday, August 13th with a visitation at 10AM and the service to follow at 11AM. Interment will be at Karmel Covenant Church later that afternoon at 4:30PM.