Homer Alaska - Obituaries

He worked in the construction field and acquired an electrical administrator's license with the full range of electrical and telephone installations. Working with the crews and handling material, he oversaw the systems installation by line crews from Seward to Fairbanks and all the places in between.

He supervised electrical work in Anchorage and Kenai, and overhead and underground installations on the North Slope, where he was the first to install underground wiring, which later became a model for the future installations on the North Slope. He supervised the installation of the first satellite communications building for the Valdez Oil Terminal and the extension of the Copper Valley telephone system.

Haas Electric Inc. was incorporated in 1982 in Homer, and, in 1986, Jim added a Radio Shack franchise to that business. He was very fond of his crew in Homer and was always proud of their teamwork while working together on projects like the wiring of Homer Volunteer Fire Department building, the street lighting on Main Street, Homer Police Department and the fire station in Seldovia. He was well-known and respected for his perfectionist work ethic all over Alaska. His hobbies included hunting, fishing, gardening and computers.

Jim traveled all over the world, including France, England, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Nigeria and other parts of Africa, and Russia. In 1988, he contributed to the reunion of Alaska Yupik Eskimo people with their relatives in the Russian Far East, taking part in the first sailing voyage across the Bering Strait after 40 years of Cold War. He contributed generously to the national and international education programs for children. In 2004, Jim and Eugeniya retired to Palmyra, Va., where he spent the last few years fighting the squirrels with a BB gun and raking loads of leaves.

"May the road rise to meet you / May the wind be always at your back / May the sun shine warm upon your face / The rains fall soft upon your fields / And, until we meet again / May God hold you in the palm of His hand," his family said, citing the Traveler's Prayer.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Henry S. Haas and Louise T. (Oblander) Haas.

He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Eugeniya Haas, and their daughter, Anaida Haas; his first wife, Lorraine Haas, and their children Tina Shimek of Anchorage, Renee Wood of Helotes, Texas, Clay Haas of Charleston, S.C., and Jody Haas of Anchorage; 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; his sisters Neda Schlehuber, Rita Patterson and Judy Glen; and his closest friend, Randy Whitehorn.

Memorial services to celebrate Jim's life were held at his home in Palmyra, Va., on Feb. 21, 2010. His ashes will be placed in a columbarium at the Culpepper National Cemetery with honors from American Legion of Virginia at a later date.