December 31, 1932 - May 15, 2022
Little Archaeopteryx
By Bob Haenselman
Oh little archaeopteryx
I wonder how you fly.
With vertebrated tail you're fixed,
With lizard tooth and eye.
You had no lookout tower then
To guide your clumsy flight,
No instruments to tell you when
You reached your cruising height.
But archeologists have said,
(With this we must concur)
Jurassic brain inside your head,
You thought, therefore you were.
Bob Haenselman passed away peacefully on May 15, 2022, surrounded by his loved ones, listening to his beloved jazz music, poetry, and laughter.
Bob was a third generation Coloradan with deep ties to Boulder. His maternal great-grand parents were pioneers, Orin and Patience Pancost. Patience’s father, the Reverend John Henry Kehler immigrated to Denver from Virginia in 1860, right before the Civil War. Reverend Kehler went on to found the Church of St. John’s in the Wilderness which was the predecessor of St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado. In 1905, Bob’s paternal grandfather, Ferdinand Haenselman, formerly a Royal Palace gardener in Prussia, established Haenselman's for Flowers in what is now Central Park at Broadway and Canyon in downtown Boulder.
Bob grew up in the family operated greenhouse, initially at Broadway and Canyon, then later the Flower Shop moved to 1515 Broadway. Bob recalled friendly pranks played between Haenselman’s and their local rival, Sturtz and Copeland, along with memories of refreshing the flowers in crypts and cemeteries throughout Boulder, his hands shaking with fear.
Bob attended Highland Elementary, Baseline Junior High school, and Boulder High School where he was Head Boy, because that was still a thing then. Bob was friendly and popular and he maintained friendships with his classmates long past their 50 year reunion.
After graduating from the University of Colorado, Bob set out for New York City with dreams of finding success in the music and theater scene. He nailed it as a starving artist. Although all did not go as planned on a professional front, Bob met his first wife, Marie, and they had their first child, Monica, before moving back to Boulder to take over over operation of Haenselman’s for Flowers. Their second daughter, Leah, was born at Community Hospital, where Bob had been born decades earlier.
When Bob decided he would be better suited to teaching, where he could share his love of English literature and drama with high school students, his intuition proved to be correct. Over the next 30 years Bob had the privilege of teaching students in the Denver Public Schools, where he inspired creativity, courage, and a sound approach to life that included plenty of laughter. Bob appreciated the unique privilege his occupation provided, and his keen intelligence and gentle humor influenced the lives of countless students.
It was a good thing Bob chose to work for DPS, because he met the love of his life, Carolyn while teaching at Manual High School. Bob and Carolyn, who would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August of 2022, had two daughters during their long marriage, Annie and Emily.
Bob had many talents. His vivid and unimpeded imagination drew him to a wide variety of interests. He was a gifted musician, although he never learned to read sheet music. He intuitively mastered any instrument he laid his hands on, excelling at the stand-up and electric bass, and the clarinet. For many years Bob moonlighted by playing in jazz bands at venues across the front range such as the Stanley Hotel. Off he would go in his VW Bug, sometimes through winter storms, dressed in a tux and accompanied by a giant, well-worn bass, it’s dignified neck protruding from the sunroof of Bob's tiny vehicle.
Bob was a poet and a story-teller. The world around him inspired his imagination. To this day we never pass the rock formation along Highway 93 without seeing the sleeping dinosaur and the water towers east of Highway 36 will always be the eyes of the giant sleeping just below the surface.
Bob adored each one of his nine grandchildren and they loved him right back. No birthday or holiday was ever missed; just weeks before he passed away, Bob spent a lovely day coloring Easter eggs with two of his beloved grandchildren.
Bob’s pets and grand-pets were family members. As with his human family, Bob encouraged his pets to be their best selves and accepted them without judgment.
Of all of Bob’s gifts, it is his sly sense of humor we will carry with us forever. He was so dang funny. Nothing escaped him and he found a way to giggle (not laugh, giggle) at all of it; himself, his children, the world. Bob’s laughter was kind-hearted and contagious, so you always joined in, even when you were the source of his mirth. His innate ability to see the humor in even the darkest moments came from his conviction that life is essentially good; a profound concept which we are grateful to have learned.
Bob’s legacy of quiet accomplishments and his stalwart dedication to laughter continues to thrive in the lives of his daughters, his grandchildren, his students, and all who were fortunate enough to enjoy his wit, charm, and lighthearted approach to life. Today you will find glimpses of Bob in the smile of a stranger enjoying the same music you are listening to, the giggle of a toddler whose toes you are tickling, or the very long stretch of a very good pet who wants you to know how very special you are to them. Bob valued you, and the world around you, and he continues to do so through our laughter and kindness toward each other.
Bob arrived in this world nearly 90 years ago on the eve of a new year. A few blinks later, surrounded by love, he passed on during a full lunar eclipse. He was magical, beloved and blessed.
Bob is survived by his wife, Carolyn, his four daughters and sons in law, Monica (Kevin Pykkonen), Leah (Rob Luckett), Anne Blodgett (Jason), and Emily (Whit Brooks), his nine grandchildren, Jordan, Roman, Caleb, Sarah, Jake, Natalie, Logan, Daisy, and Oriane, his neice, Sarah Moyer (Todd), his nephew John (Federico Solano), and Gweneviere, the feline representative of the menagerie of faithful and not so faithful animal companions. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Glen and Orian, and his brother Carl (“Bud”).
Please join us to celebrate Bob’s life on August 19, 2022 at 11:00 am at Crist Mortuary followed by an interment at Green Mountain Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please share a smile, or better yet a giggle, with someone else today.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cristmortuary.com for the HAENSELMAN family.
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