Virginia Leota Haack

Born September 7, 1922 in Port Washington, Wisconsin to Oliver and Leota Cooley Smith. Virginia attended Elementary School & High School in Port Washington. She was active in many sports & musical activities in High School. She was an excellent student as well as popular (prom queen in her junior year), loved school and prided herself for almost perfect attendance. She never forgot her favorite teachers which were Hilda Guenther; Phys. Ed, Lee Freeman; Concert & Marching Band and Vera Mead: History & Home room Teacher. She learned to swim in the cold waters of Lake Michigan, and especially enjoyed swimming with her Cooley cousins at the Cooley Cottage on Silver Lake. Summer time activities were tennis, swimming & softball. Ice skating & sledding were favorites in the winter.

When Virginia’s Aunt Evelyn opened the Fish Shanty Restaurant she was "allowed" to help in the kitchen, beginning at age of 12, starting a lifelong involvement in the restaurant industry. Iowa State University was her College choice, having been greatly influenced by her mentor Mabel Sherrill, who was the Home Economist for the West Bend Aluminum Co, later Lawry's Foods in Los Angeles. A Dietetic Internship followed at Harper Hospital in Detroit, after which she worked as a staff dietitian at Harper. Returning to Port Washington, she worked in all departments of the family Restaurant, Smith Bros Fish Shanty. She married William Haack in 1947 whom she later divorced. She had two daughters, Sherry and Sally and she and the girls moved to Southern California in 1962. As a single mom, she continued working in the food service industry, with the family Fish Shanty Restaurants, Griswold’s Smorgasbords & Dinner Houses, May Company Food Service until Retirement in 1988. She was always very close to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who were the love and pride of her life.

A major turning point in Virginia’s life is when she became a born again Christian in 1977. Here is her testimony: “I moved to Redondo Beach, California in 1961 with 2 daughters, Sherry and Sally (then ages 15 & 12) to manage Smith Bros. Fish Shanty Restaurant in Torrance which was in the process of being totally re-vamped into Smith Bros Indian Village. It was a very difficult adjustment to adapt to the California Culture, especially for Sherry and Sally, who missed Grandma, and other relatives and friends in Port Washington, Wisconsin, a city of about 5000 people. “Not really knowing "why" my first objective was to connect with a "church". After visiting several Protestant Churches in the area, we "found" St Andrews Presbyterian Church on Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach. The difference in this church was that we were warmly welcomed by the Pastor, Paul Cox and the Choir Director Mel Tully, who invited the girls to sing in the youth choir with rehearsals starting that evening. It wasn't until years later that I realized the Lord was guiding me and my daughters into a conservative Christian church and eventually into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Activities in the youth group at St. Andrews led Sherry and Sally to activities with Rolling Hills Covenant Church. In 1965 at a Campus Crusade meeting at Long Beach State University, Sherry invited and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into her life as her Lord and Savior. Several years later, Sally did the same at a Baptist Church service she listened to on the radio in Flagstaff, when she was attending Northern Arizona University. After their college education, both met Christian men and were married in Rolling Hills Covenant Church. Wow,. . . both my daughters were "Born Again Believers" and tried to explain this relationship to me (I thought I was a Christian, but too proud & too embarrassed to ask about the transformation) Instead, I just looked for, and attended good churches in the various Southern CA cities where my job took me. At an evening Prayer Meeting at the Canoga Park Presbyterian Church, the Gospel Message finally penetrated my questioning heart, and I prayed with the Evangelist Bill McKee that evening in September of 1977, and that was the beginning of my new relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I now understood that Jesus died for ME, and that God raised Him from the dead, so that I would have Eternal Life with Him. 1 John 1: 9 and 1 John 5: 11, 12 & 13 have become my favorite verses. Praise the Lord! There was not a big transformation in me, however, I now understood the words of the Bible, reading through the entire Bible with the help of Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I listened and understood the Christian teachers on Radio, my Sunday School teachers, asked questions of Pastors, memorized many Scripture verses, and now was starting my new life in Christ! Moving back to Redlands the Lord led me to Redlands Bible Church and eventually Trinity Evangelical Free Church.”

Virginia always enjoyed being close to the water, growing up in a fishing town on Lake Michigan. In 1983 she had the opportunity to buy a third interest in a beach house located on the ocean in Laguna Beach, California. This scenic home was the thrill of her retirement years. She delighted in this beautiful part of God's awesome creation and hosted many visits with family and many friends. She was fascinated by the many ocean and shore birds, the tide pools, the sea lions, seals, dolphins and migrating whales all of which she could see from the deck of her beach house. She enjoyed. the beautiful vistas of the off shore Islands, the sunsets & ever changing shore line. When she wasn’t at the beach she was in Redlands actively involved in many activities with her friends and community organizations.

In 1988 she joined "Trinity Evangelical Free" church where she was a committed and serving member. She enjoyed being part of Koinonia Home Bible Studies and leader of “Prime Timers”. In 1987 several close friends and family members died of Cancer, including sister in law Maxine Smith and her son in law’s father Herb Atkinson which led her to serve for10 years as a Hospice volunteer for Redlands Community Hospital. With a growing group friends in Redlands and Laguna Beach she added acquaintances she met on cruises with Chuck Swindoll, Chuck Smith, John McArthur, two tours to Israel and other international and national trips in the USA. She was a Master Media Volunteer which is a Christian Outreach in Hollywood. Health issues led her to having both Hips Replaced and later a knee replacement.

In 2005 she moved to Sunrise Senior Living in Seal Beach to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren and of course, made many more amazing friends and was loved by the staff at Sunrise. Virginia was active in Bible studies and other activities. She had a lap top and kept up corresponding with not only relatives, but with friends far and near on Face Book. She did on-line scrabble (Words with Friends), word games and solitaire on her beloved laptop, even in the rehab recovering from a broken femur which happened on February 27th.

Virginia was brilliant and has lived a full, productive, and fruitful life for 93 ½ years. We will all miss her but we rejoice that she now arrived to her ‘ultimate’ home in the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Well done, Virginia!

A graveside service will be held Monday March 28th at 10:00 a.m. preceded with a viewing at Westminster Memorial Park 14801 Beach Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683 followed by a Memorial Service at Calvary Chapel North Long Beach 5722 Lime Ave. Long Beach, CA 90805 at 1:00 p.m. Luncheon reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Virginia's favorite ministry, Billy Graham.

www.BillyGraham.org or

Billy Graham, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 2820

Arrangements are under the direction of Westminster Memorial Park Mortuary ~FD1030, Westminster, CA.