Warren Haseley

Warren E. Haseley was a lifelong athlete who always wanted to teach physical education and coach youngsters.

He achieved that dream and more, helping to inspire and educate thousands of students in 33 years as a teacher and administrator.

“He was excellent with kids,” his wife Bernice said. “He enjoyed working with them and helping them.”

Mr. Haseley served as the assistant principal at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Port Washington for 18 years, from 1968 to 1986, before retiring.

He came to Port Washington from Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in Waukegan, Ill., where he taught physical education and health and coached basketball for 14 years.

He had an excellent rapport with students of all backgrounds, so much so that other teachers asked him for advice on how to establish similar relationships, his wife said.

Mr. Haseley died Saturday, Oct. 20, at Harbor Cove in Port Washington. He was 96.

He was a native of Lake Elmo, Minn., born on Feb. 17, 1922, to Eugene and Agnes Richert Haseley.

His family moved to the Jackson-Cedarburg area before settling in Port Washington.

Mr. Haseley attended Port Washington High School, where he was active in many sports and the high school band, before graduating in 1940.

He joined the Army Air Corps after high school and was stationed in San Angelo, Texas.

After he was discharged, he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and recreation at La Crosse State Teachers College in 1950 and a master’s degree in administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1964.

His first teaching job was at Southern Colony in Union Grove.

Mr. Haseley married Bernice Antoine at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake Church on June 17, 1950.

“He was quiet,” his wife said. “But he was very funny, too. That sense of humor and all his interests are what interested me.”

Mr. Haseley was an athlete who loved hardball and softball and played in numerous leagues as an adult, his wife said. He helped organize the senior softball league in Grafton and also helped start the senior horseshoes program in Port.

He also loved music and played trumpet in bands in high school, college and beyond. He was a charter member of the Ozaukee County Barbershop Chorus and played his trumpet in the New Horizons Senior Band.

He also loved to dance, and his wife said that for years they made a habit of attending dances at Weiler’s dance hall in Port Washington.

“I think we were there every Saturday night for years,” she said.

Mr. Haseley also was active in numerous senior programs and served on the Senior Center board.

He and his wife volunteered to deliver Meals on Wheels for 30 years, and he also helped work fish fries at St. John XXIII Catholic Parish in Port Washington.

Mr. Haseley was also a member of the Van Ells-Schanen American Legion Post 82 in Port Washington.

He and his wife loved to travel, visiting numerous states in the U.S. and abroad.

His favorite trip was to Austria, the first big trip the couple took outside the U.S. after he retired, his wife said.

“He was able to walk through the Alps, and he thought that was the greatest thing he’d ever done,” she said. “It was fantastic. He couldn’t believe he was walking in the Alps.”

Mr. Haseley continued to appreciate his blessings throughout his life and was amazed at all life had given him, his family said.

Mr. Haseley is survived by his wife Bernice of Port Washington; children Susan (Keith) Campbell of Richfield, Gary (Debra) of Port Washington and Warren (Marjorie) of Mt. Prospect, Ill.; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

He is further survived by his sister Nancy (Paul) Swatek of Lake Geneva and brothers Donald (Lillian) of Port Washington and Eugene of Lake Geneva.

Mr. Haseley was preceded in death by his sons Dean and Gregory; sisters Adene Haseley, Carol Entress and Phyllis Kl`opp; brother Leonard “Skip;” sisters-in-law Betty Haseley and Betty Jane Haseley; and brothers-in-law Lawrence Entress and Gerald Klopp.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at St. John XXIII Parish, St. Peter of Alcantara Catholic Church in Port Washington with military honors to follow. Father Patrick Wendt will officiate.

Visitation will be at the church Thursday from 11:30 a.m. Thursday until the service.

Burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Port Washington.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the American Heart Association or Special Olympics of Ozaukee County are suggested.

Funeral arrangements are handled through Eernisse Funeral Home, Port Washington.