James Haen Obituary

James Raymond Haen was born in Two Rivers on January 15, 1946 to August and Elsie (Zellner) Haen. Jim (better known as Jimmy at the time) made headlines at the ripe age of 3 when he decided to follow his dog and got lost in a field. He graduated from Mishicot High School in 1964.

In 1977 Jim proved to all that he wasn't going to let a disability stop him from living and thriving. He had stopped on the side of the road to help a stranded motorist when one of the vehicles was struck by a drunk driver and he was pinned between the two cars. After losing his legs in that terrible accident he went on to get married in 1978, graduate from Lakeshore Technical Institute with an Associate's degree in Mechanical Design in 1980, and became father to 5 children. He played sheepshead in his spare time.

He worked at Hamilton and then worked for Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) until 1990 when he decided to leave the workforce to become a fulltime single dad to five sometimes terrible children. After living in California for a few years he made his way back to WI where he lived in Menasha for the past 20 years. With all his kids grown and making their way, Jim chose to get back into the workforce. He worked as a Greeter at Walmart for 18 years before retiring in 2019. He then received the precious gift of a kidney transplant in November 2019 which we firmly believe gave him an extra 2 ½ years to enjoy his family and friends.

James was preceded in death by his parents, brothers August Jr. and Kenneth Haen, nephew Mark Haen, grandson Daniel Daemmrich.

He leaves behind his oldest brother Arnold, sister-in-law Alice (August), and 5 children Kevin Haen, Marcia Knight, Debra (Mark) Niec, Timothy (Elizabeth) Haen, and Holly Adcock. 16 grandchildren Jay, Karissa, Libby, Alex, Jessica, Anthony, Danny, Georgia, Hailee, Codey, Andrew, Allisyn, Karac, Ania, Daphne, and Oliver, and 2 great grandchildren.

Mass will be held at St Mary's Church in Menasha on August 27th, 2022. Visitation starts at 9:00am and service is at 11:00am with a light lunch to follow.

There is an interment service being planned, where both James Haen and his ex-wife (and one love). Julie Konsela will be laid in their final resting place. Contact Jim's children for details.