John H. Haeckel
FAIRMONT - Memorial service for John H. Haeckel, 87, of Burbank, Calif., formerly of Fairmont, will be 11 a.m. Saturday, August 30, 2008, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Fairmont. Burial will follow with military honors by the Lee C. Prentice American Legion Post 36 and the Martin County V.F.W. Post at Calvary Cemetery in Fairmont.
Mr. Haeckel died Friday, August 8, 2008, in California. Visitation with the family will be 4-7 p.m. Friday, August 29, at Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont and one hour prior to service at the church. There will be a prayer service 7 p.m. Friday at Lakeview Funeral Home.
John Hengen Haeckel was born December 27, 1920, in Fairmont, Minn., the son of John and Effie (Hengen) Haeckel. He lived with his parents at 311 E. Blue Earth Ave. and graduated from Fairmont High School in 1939. He attended Minnesota School of Banking, then completed two years of college and university studies at Drake University and Minneapolis Business College. At the commencement of World War II, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He served from 1942 until 1946, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of Yeoman 2nd Class. He then returned to Fairmont and worked at the Fairmont National Bank where he served as second officer for more than 15 years. He could trace his family back at least three generations to the time Fairmont was a small settlement of English and German immigrants. John's father was Martin County Treasurer for several years, until he joined a group who established Fairmont National Bank. At that time, John's father was appointed cashier of the bank and later became bank president. It was under his father's tutelage that he learned the banking business and subsequently spent his entire career as a banker. He was very well-known and respected. He married Velma Ann Weydert on May 25, 1949, in Mankato. They made their home in Fairmont, where they raised their three sons. Velma died September 22, 1971. During his years in Fairmont, John was very active in the American Legion and VFW. He was a commander of the Lee C. Prentice Post #36 Fairmont American Legion. During this time, he was elected District Governor of the Exchange Club and served as director on the Martin County Fair Board, a trustee at St. John Vianney Church, chairman of the Martin County Red Cross and served on the Fairmont Housing Authority. On March 10, 1973, he married Donna (Jacobson) Starkey. They made their home in Fairmont. In 1974, John resigned his position at Fairmont National Bank. He and Donna moved to California, where John started as second officer and Assistant Vice President of the Valley National Bank. He retired in 1985 as Assistant Vice President. He was also very active in California in the Legion Club, VFW, Elks Club, Treasurer of the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce and president of the Toluca Lake Rotary. John enjoyed playing golf and also tried his hand at woodworking plaques and frames. He also liked to hunt and fish.
John is survived by his wife, Donna Haeckel of Burbank, Calif.; three sons, Rodney Haeckel and his wife, Bev, of Fairmont, Gary Haeckel and his wife, Grace, of Fairmont and James Haeckel and his wife, Linda, of Puyallup, Wash.; stepson, Roger Starkey and his wife, Teresa, of Santa Clarita, Calif.; stepdaughter, Carole Ivey and her husband, Randy, of Valencia, Calif.; 13 grandchildren, Jessica Annis and her husband, Rod, Justin Haeckel, Katie Haeckel, Kari Lawrence, Kory Lawrence and his wife, Jennifer, Jill Haeckel, Jayme Haeckel, Jenna Haeckel, Travis Ivey and his wife, Christine, Megan Ivey , Roger Starkey Jr., Michelle Starkey, and Cheryl Fullerton; five great-grandchildren, Sam Annis, Kayla Moskos, Karly Lawrence, Makenna Ivey and Gavin Ivey; sisters, Florence Muir of Fairmont, Helen McCleary of Largo, Fla., Jean Rietkerk and her husband, Claude, of Tarpon Springs, Fla., Hazel Dick of Hays, Kan.; sister-in-laws, Karen Jacobson of Mesa, Ariz., Iva Haeckel of Fairmont, Maxine Thate of Fairmont, Illa Jean Krengel and her husband, Ron, of Minnesota Lake, Minn., Mary Lou Weydert of New Richland, Minn., Rosanne Barnard and her husband, George, of Waterville, Minn., Mary Darlene Wiebold and her husband, Ted, of Dover, N.H., and Ramona McGuire of Montgomery, Minn.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Velma Haeckel; four brothers, Ray, Warren, James, and Joe; one sister, Fay Bula; mother and father-in-law, Mr. & Mrs. M.N. Jacobson; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.
