Anne Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Campbell Haas
Oct. 27, 1950 — July 8, 2017
Anne Elizabeth ”Betsy” Campbell Haas was born in Seattle on Oct. 27, 1950, to Anne Canham and Robert Evans.
Betsy lived the bulk of her formative years in Piedmont,
California, with her siblings John, Darsie and Joanie. As the
granddaughter to bestselling author Betty MacDonald, Betsy was inspired
to pursue an English major at San Jose State in 1969, where she met her
future husband, William Haas (Bill). They fell in love quickly and
married in 1970, just a year after meeting, in an intimate ceremony on a
cliffside overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Though she left us too soon, Betsy lived a full life.
As the mother of two young children, Annie and Robert, Betsy completed
her education at San Jose State in accounting, cum laude, after which
she became a CPA and quickly climbed the ranks at Price Waterhouse. Her
career took her across the country to Denver, where she worked for Quark
Publishing, and to Washington, D.C., where she worked for eGlobe and
France Telecom. When Bill and Betsy chose Pine Mountain Lake as the
place they wanted to retire, Betsy finished up her career as the
controller for the Pine Mountain Lake Association.
Betsy was an accomplished equestrian, skier and had a
deep and abiding passion for the outdoors, which she and her husband
enjoyed together through backpacking, hiking, skiing and long-distance
trail riding competitions.
Betsy passed peacefully in her home surrounded by her
loved ones. Betsy is survived by her husband of 47 years, Bill Haas;
her siblings; her mother; her son, Robert Haas; daughter, Annie Parnell;
and her four grandchildren, Will, Elsie, Grant and Presley.
William Haas
Born in Denver, Colorado to Ava Mae Castle and Arthur Haas, our
father, Bill, was raised with his two elder siblings Ava and Charles.
Bill and his siblings came from the most humble beginnings, traveling
west, stopping where work could be found, until they finally landed in
Southern California. Bill would tell you himself that he was
directionless for much of his young life, but at his core our dad was a
doer. He took that lack of direction and turned it into industriousness,
doing any job that was difficult and demanded strength of mind as well
as body, he worked in car shops, metal shops and warehouses. In 1967,
when friends with wives and children were getting drafted into Vietnam,
Dad felt it was incumbent upon him, a kid with no wife, no kids, and no
real prospects, to volunteer for the Marines in hopes that he might take
the place of someone he considered more worthy of staying behind. This
is probably the most emblematic example of the deep and abiding morality
that ruled our Father's life. There was right and wrong, and anything
that meant helping and protecting others, no matter what their personal
beliefs were, was right. Even in his senior years, which were all too
brief, he never bought into the idea that the world somehow owed him
something after all he had given, instead he continued to give even more
back to it, believing that he had a responsibility to make this a
better place for his children and grandchildren. He always knew what was
right, especially when he met our mother, Anne Elizabeth Campbell Haas
(Betsy). They were engaged within a week of meeting, and married within
the year. They were married for 47 years and loved each other right up
until the day of her death in July 2017. In that time they shared their
passions for horseback riding, hiking, skiing and reading. They built a
successful life together, and raised two children (Annie and Robert)
giving us a start in life our dad never got, but always grounding us in
the reality of his humble beginnings. He taught us strength and loyalty
as he cared for our mother for 6 long years as Alzheimers took her mind
and ultimately her body at the young age of 66. He taught us compassion
as he always reminded us that those who are less fortunate did not
choose their lot in life, but merely didn't get the helping hand that we
did. He taught us bravery as he struggled to build a new life after the
love of his life left him, and we watched with hope and wonder as we
saw him begin to do just that in recent months. Now it appears that he
will teach us perseverance as his final lesson. Bill is survived by his
children, Robert and Annie, their spouses, Devan and Chris, and his four
grandchildren, Will, Elsie, Grant and Presley. Services will be held at
Crist Mortuary in Boulder, CO at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 27.
Published in The Daily Camera on Mar. 10, 2019
