Bruce Paul Haake

Bruce Paul Haake was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Bruce was born on August 26, 1946 at Rockford Memorial Hospital in Rockford, Illinois. His parents were John F Haake and Margaret Haake. Bruce was raised in Southern California. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up, Bruce was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Bruce developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. He was a Boy Scout and enjoyed going camping whenever he could.

Bruce was always considered to be a solid friend. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Bruce was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Bruce to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Bill Holman and Dave Arlond.

On February 1st, 1970 Bruce exchanged wedding vows with Sylvia Rose Turner at the Courthouse Chapel of Las Vegas, Nevada. Compassionate and devoted to Sylvia, Bruce held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Sylvia and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Bruce brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his son John F. Haake II. He was a good parent to John, always wanting to teach him about life and become the one person John could confide in about anything.

Bruce greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Bruce was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. From the age of 19 he joined IBM as a Customer Engineer being the youngest employee of the company. From there he went back to school with IBM to become a Programmer. He was employed for 48 years by IBM in San Jose, California. Bruce worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Bruce liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time. His favorite pursuits were working on cars, building things, taking his two motorcycles out with his bike club for road trips and going bowling. Bruce was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

Bruce sought out practical solutions. He was always grounded and objective, feeling a strong sense of responsibility for taking care of what needed to be done. This selfless attitude earned Bruce many praises for his efforts and achievements. His most prestigious award included being awarded a Certificate of Honor in recognition of appreciation of 25 years of service on April 3rd, 1992 by IBM.

Bruce enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Bruce appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, Bruce always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included taking cruises with his wife Sylvia.

Bruce was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. Some of Bruce’s favorites included his childhood Dog of 7 years and Kelley the cat whom he had for 15 years.

When Bruce’s retirement finally arrived in 2005 from IBM, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. In retirement, he found new pleasure in going out to see shows, Dining out, and going out dancing with Sylvia.

Bruce Paul Haake passed away on March 18, 2019 at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is survived by his wife Sylvia Haake and son John F. Haake II. Services were held at Palm Northwest Mortuary. Bruce was laid to rest in Palm Northwest Cemetery.