Joseph "Jeff" Hahn III

As a young boy Jeff loved to fly planes with his father, who had been a B17 pilot in a World War II. He took special pride in the fact that his father thought of him as a co-pilot, and together they flew many trips up and down the coast of California.

Jeff grew up in Napa, California, where he attended elementary and middle school, and later Napa High School. After high school, Jeff pursued his lifelong love of animals and the outdoors, living on a farm in Cave Junction, Oregon, for 3 years. He learned to milk cows, care for horses, birth calves, and manage a multitude of farm tasks from dawn to dusk.

In 1963, Jeff moved to Texas, where he entered a vocational and residential program at the Austin Career and Guidance Center, a few blocks from his family's home.

In 1967, Jeff was hired at the Austin Central United States Post Office as a full-time Mail Handler, a position he held for 42 years. During his career at the Post Office, he received several certificates of appreciation for his suggestions about how to improve worker safety and mail-sorting routines.

He soon moved from the Career & Guidance Center into his own apartment behind his family's home, where he maintained a large aviary filled with cockatiels, finch and parakeets, along with several aquariums with colorful tropical fish. On weekends he often went to Zilker Park, where he entered kite-flying contests with his large, unusual kites. At home he listened to country music and watched sports - never missing a Texas Longhorns game.

After retiring from the Post Office in 2009, Jeff attended the A.G.E. of Central Texas Elderhaven Day Center every weekday, where he made new friends and loved interacting with the other clients and staff.

Jeff considered himself a "dog whisperer." He loved walking and caring for the shelter dogs at the Austin Humane Society, where he volunteered every Saturday. Nothing made him happier than when a family chose one of his four-legged friends to take home. One worker said: "I will always remember [Jeff] greeting even our goofiest dogs with a hearty "I love you!"

On Sundays he often went bowling at Highland Lanes with his uncle, George Jones or his nephew Colemar Nichols. He also bowled every Thursday with his team "The Old-Timers," proudly carrying his scores in his pocket so he could show his friends. In 2014, he even starred in a short documentary film “Jeff Goes Bowling."

On September 11th, Jeff went bowling for the last time. After beating his nephew three games straight, he collapsed while packing his bowling bag and suffered a fatal cardiac arrest. With his nephew holding his hand, medics tried to revive him but Jeff never regained consciousness. The last photograph of him reveals a proud and gentle man, whose final moments were spent doing what he loved most.

Beloved by all for his good nature and bright spirit, Jeff is survived by his mother Carol Whitcraft Fredericks, his sisters Helen and Virginia Whitcraft, his nephew Colemar Nichols, his niece Sarah Wanek and her husband Jeffrey, great-niece Chloe Wanek and great-nephew Decklan Wanek. Jeff was pre-deceased by his stepfather Franklin Pierce "Chris" Whitcraft, his father Joseph Hahn Jr., and his stepmother Ruby Bickford.

Jeff’s memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday, September 25, 2016, at Cook Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78752.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be directed to the Austin Humane Society, the A.G.E. of Central Texas Elderhaven Day Center, or the charity of one’s choice in honor of Jeff Hahn.