John M. Haffner

John M. Haffner, 83, passed away January 26, 2015 at Westminster Village North in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on April 26, 1931, the son of the late Eugene and Katherine Haffner of Fort Wayne. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in Fort Wayne and St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana. He was a U.S. Army Veteran and served in Korea and Japan. John was a retiree from Sears after 37 years of service in Merchandising and Management. He retired on Morse Lake in Cicero, IN before moving to Indianapolis, IN. John served his faith and community his whole life. In Louisville, he was a Eucharistic Minister at Mother of Good Counsel Parish, where he also coached football and basketball. In Indianapolis he was a member of St. Simon Catholic Church, where he trained Mass servers and served on parish committees for many years. He was also a long-term volunteer at Conner Prairie Living History Museum. John loved his family, friends, and everyone he met. He will be dearly missed by all. He is survived by his beloved wife, Susan A. Haffner; children Helen (Thomas) West, Paula Haffner, Carol (Tommy) Heckman, and Stephen (Mary Beth) Haffner; five grandchildren, Anna, John and Teresa Heckman, and Lindsay and Tara Haffner; and sisters Nancy Boylan and Colette Haffner. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Marilyn Smethers and granddaughter, Grace Noël Heckman. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Simon the Apostle Catholic Church or the charity of your choice. EULOGY FOR JOHN HAFFNER Written by Carol Heckman, daughter Blessed Mother Teresa said "We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love." Small things with great love: -Reading bedtime stories, saying bedtime prayers. -Taking his 4 young children fishing in a small metal boat, watching happily as they make their first casts, and spending the next 3 hours untangling lines. -Waking his young children in the morning with a gentle touch. -Taking his preteens to the zoo and King's Island again and again. -Modeling the value of doing good work. -TRULY enjoying his middle-class life, "living the life of Riley", as he called it. -Listening to his kids' and his friends' trials and tribulations with patience and without judgment. -Holding his stillborn granddaughter in his hands and taking it upon himself to write his congressmen about the sanctity of life. -Teaching the rosary to a very young grandchild. -Having paper airplane races with the grandkids, over and over. -Making puppets with his grandson, talking cars later on. -Forwarding groaners, as he liked to call bad jokes and puns, just to brighten someone's day; -Sitting on his deck in the early morning with a sleeping grandchild curled up in his arms, -Saying the prayer at every Thanksgiving meal, thanking the cooks, and thanking Morn every single time for taking such good care of him. -In his later years, sitting at a stool at the kitchen counter, taking chicken off the bone or cutting oranges, always setting a good example of right and wrong, and always staying positive, no matter what. Dad made EVERYONE feel like his favored grandchild, his best friend, his honored guest. Small things with great love. That was our Dad, John Haffner. The day we let folks know that Dad had decided to stop dialysis, I spoke by phone to my Aunt Carol. In a conversation lasting a minute or two, in her sadness, she spoke many loving and supportive words, but one thing in particular struck me. She said, "You know, Carol, we were put here on this earth for one reason: to know God, to love God and to serve God." I'd heard it before, and I wasn't sure at first why it was so comforting to me. But as the hours and days passed, I realized that she was describing Dad. First of all, any sincere person who goes to daily and Sunday Mass for as many years as Dad did must know God. To love God? Dad loved his family, he loved his friends, he loved his pastor, he never met a stranger, and he loved everyone he met. I was always taught that if you loved your neighbor, you loved God; so, Dad, you've got that one covered. To serve God. My Dad did that from the time he was a young boy going to Catholic school right up until his later years when he was an altar server at daily Mass and a greeter, holding the door and giving bear hugs as the regulars filed in. To serve God — check. To know, love, and serve God. Small things with great love. Wonderful legacies that Dad left to us, his family and friends. Dad, I vow, and I am sure everyone will join me in promising, in your name, to do more small things with great love, We will pay it forward, we will pass it on. John Michael Haffner, pray for us.