Haas

Robert J. Haas, 81, of Emlenton died Monday at UPMC Presbyterian after an illness.

Born June 17, 1927, in Pittsburgh, he was the son of the late Gregory and Ethel Kohl Haas.

He was a 1945 graduate of Avonworth High School and received a bachelor's degree from California (Pa.) College and a master's of education from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Haas was employed as a teacher for years with Quaker Valley, Dormont and Bellevue high schools. He also taught at Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland. He was assistant principal and principal at Hopewell Junior High School in Aliquippa. He was principal at Allegheny-Clarion Valley High School for 16 years and retired as the headmaster and principal of Venango Catholic High School in Oil City in 1992. He also was a real estate agent for Northwood Realty for years.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II and Korea, and he was a member of the American Legion Post 8606. He was a member and past president of the A-CV Kiwanis Club, where he served on the scholarship committee and was the chairman of the club's annual golf outing; the National and Pennsylvania associations of principals, and the AARP.

He served on the board of directors of the Middle States Association of High Schools and Universities, was a past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Principals and was named Pennsylvania's Principal of the year in 1988-89. He was chairman of the Clarion County Athletic Association and the Little Twelve Football Conference and was a member of the Butler County Scholarship Committee.

He was an avid golf enthusiast and a member of the Foxburg Country Club. He also belonged to the St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Emlenton and served on the parish council.

Surviving are his wife, Dolores "Dolly" Ambrass Haas, who he married Sept. 16, 1961; seven children, Robert G. Haas of Merrimack, N.H., Joseph J. Haas and his wife, Julie, of North East, Timothy M. Haas and his wife, Christine, of Newtown, Gregory E. Haas and his wife, Paula, of West Newbury, Mass., John B. Haas and his wife, Olivia, of Altadena, Calif., Beth Ann Kennedy and her husband, Matthew, of Clinton, Conn., and Maria Haas Matchett and her husband, Robert III, of Cranberry Township; 12 grandchildren; and a number of nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Clifford and Gerard Haas.

<B>HAAS</B> — Friends of Robert J. Haas, who died Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the <B>Hile Funeral Home Inc.</B>, 1204 Kerr Ave., Emlenton. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church, Chestnut Street, Emlenton, with Monsignor Jan Olowin officiating. Interment will follow in the St. Michael Cemetery, Emlenton. A parish prayer service will be held at 6:45 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.Military honors will be accorded by the Vets Honor Guard, Franklin.Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital, Memphis, TNOnline condolences may be sent to localfamilies@hilefuneralhome.com.