Individual Details

During WWII he served with Company "C" of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division.
AL H HAAS 04 Jun 1924 30 Oct 2004 (V) 81301 (Durango, La Plata, CO) (none specified) Kansas
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Al H. Haas - Durango Herald (Nov/4/2004)
Senior District Judge Al Haas died Saturday, Oct. 30 at his home. He was 80.
Visitation will be held at Hood Mortuary from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Columba Catholic Church. The Rev. James Koenigsfeld of St. Columba Church will officiate. Burial will occur at Greenmount Cemetery in Durango.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311; or to the Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 3434, Durango, CO 81302.

Article Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2004
a colorado life
Haas a judge of character, with character
By Virginia Culver
Denver Post Staff Writer
Al Haas always voted on Election Day, refusing to use an absentee ballot despite the pleas of his wife, Mary Lou Haas.
His wife died in 2002, and Haas continued going to the polls. He died Oct. 30, at age 80, before getting a chance to vote in the presidential election.
"When he meets up with Mother again, she is going to rip him for not voting absentee this year," said daughter Sue Reinwald of Durango.
Haas always had wanted to be a lawyer. He practiced law and served as a district judge for 15 years in Durango.
As a lawyer, "he was creative, thorough, competent and careful," said a longtime friend, Bruce Kirkpatrick. "There was no funny stuff."
But occasionally, he was humorous in the courtroom.
Once Haas was defending a man charged with drunken driving after the man drove his car into the Animas River. He was found with water up to his lap.
Kirkpatrick, the prosecuting attorney, said clearly the man was drunk. Haas replied, "Just because he was sitting in his car in the river doesn't mean he was drunk."
Kirkpatrick was in Silverton for Haas' first case as a judge. "He had been judge only a week, but he was such a pro you'd have thought he'd been one for 20 years," Kirkpatrick said. "He was very perceptive, and, oh, God, could he see through people."
Haas could be "stubborn as a mule and had a temper you didn't wish to be on the wrong end of," Robin Auld said at Haas' memorial service. But outbursts were short-lived.
Haas was a mentor to many young lawyers, Reinwald said.
His first aim was not to make money but to ensure a client got good representation, said daughter Cay Haas Lane of Aurora. Often he was paid in Indian jewelry, crops or odd jobs.
Haas loved gardening and put bouquets of his own flowers in rooms throughout his home.
Al H. Haas was born June 14, 1924, in Antonino, Kan., and went to Fort Hays College in Kansas, where he met his future wife, Mary Lou Munson. He earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Denver. He was in the U.S. Army and earned a Purple Heart in World War II.
He and Mary Lou Munson were married July 4, 1946. "They were a perfect match, and when she died, Al died, too," Kirkpatrick said in his eulogy. "It just took 2 1/2 years for his heart to stop beating."
Haas is survived by another daughter, Carol Ronco of Englewood; sons Michael Haas of Durango and Chuck Haas of Aurora; seven grandchildren; and two great grandchildren.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com .

Note: Jacinda Gilliam sent the above obtiuary on Sept. 23, 2006.

Birth	4 Jun 1924	Antonino, Ellis County, Kansas
Marriage	4 Jul 1946	Mary Louise Munson
Death	30 Oct 2004	Durango, La Plata County, Colorado
Obituary	10 Nov 2004
Burial		Greenmount Cemetery, Durango, La Plata County, Colorado

Spouse	Mary Louise Munson (1926 - 2001)
Child	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living

Notes