Ed Haker

Ed Haker enjoys good conversation and loves his family and God. He finds joy in serving others, and, these days, he says it’s about the small things you can do for someone like hold the door open, smile, and just be friendly!

Ed grew up in Milwaukee around 46th and Hadley. When he was ten-years-old, he had rheumatic fever and spent six months in bed. During that time, his parents bought him a book about boats and thus began Eddie’s love for boats. At about age ten and a half, Eddie designed and built his first boat; it had a wood frame, was covered in muslin. He made it water tight by covering it with salt water and then he painted it. It even had an outboard motor! Over the years, Eddie designed and built 50-100 boats for many people. He remembers fondly building one in Nancy’s grandpa Jung’s basement and one in his aunt’s extra bedroom. Eddie also took part in a boat race on Lake Winnebago. It started in Neenah; the halfway point was in Fremont on the Wolf River; and then back for a total of 92 miles. The boat was ten feet long and had a speed of 35 miles per hour. Eddie drove that boat on his knees, and during the race, he had a steering problem, but he was able to repair it and finish the race. He proudly displays a picture Nancy took at the end of the race. Eddie said that part of his life went very quickly!

Eddie was 16 when he started delivering ice cream for Luick Seal Test around Milwaukee. It was during WWII and one day, his employer came to Eddie and needed him to drive the semi delivering ice cream to Green Bay, Madison, and the Great Lakes Naval Base. So at 16, Eddie became a semi-truck driver.

Eddie graduated from Washington High School in Milwaukee and went on to graduate from Marquette University. Eddie’s cousin Joan set him up on a blind date with a girl she worked with and so began his life with Nancy. They were married on April 11, 1953.

Eddie had different jobs but in the early 1950’s his uncle offered him a job building homes. It didn’t take Eddie long to know that designing homes and helping people get the home they wanted was his passion. He designed and built homes for his family and made a career of designing and building homes for others. When he wasn’t doing that, he was working as a mechanical engineer consultant. He enjoyed working with people one-on-one.

Ed and Nancy were blessed with three daughters: Vicki, Karen, and Lori. When Lori was ten and a half, she became very sick with the chicken pox, and on April 1, 1971, Lori died. Nancy and Ed turned their grief into the Lori Jean Haker Memorial Fund, which continues to support professorships for infectious disease research through Children’s Hospital to this day.

Ed and Nancy were long time members of Sherman Park Lutheran Church, where Ed held all of the church offices and served on various committees. One of his favorites was supervising the addition at the church.

Here at Ascension, Ed is a member of the Monday night AMEN Ministry group and filled the altar candles for many years. He said he enjoyed the quiet of the sanctuary as he filled the candles. Over the years, you may have seen Ed and Nancy in the summer months caring for the outdoor plants as they watered and pulled weeds.

Over the past few years, Ed has written his life story, about 12-13 chapters, for his family to enjoy one day. What a gift he has given to his family! These days, Ed and Nancy enjoy their six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. “I see how the Lord has taken me by the hand and guided me all these years,” Ed states, showing his faith and trust – a lesson we can all learn from.