I was born in Racine, Wisconsin in the early morning hours of August 26, 1946 to Glenn and Marianne Haas who for some strange reason remained very proud parents until their deaths in 1997. I attended Janes Elementary School, Washington Jr. High School and Wm. Horlick High School in Racine before attending Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois graduating with a degree in mathematics in June 1968. As luck would have it, I received a "greetings" from Lyndon Baines Johnson during my first semester of graduate school at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Fortunately for me, I avoided getting my butt shot off in Vietnam and was able to finish my graduate work after a two year sabbatical. I received a Ph.D. in Mathematics in December of 1978.

My sister brought home a fellow girl scout camp staff member, Shelley Sue Fitzgerald, in 1963 to do laundry. In 1971 we were married. We "dated" over the phone while I was in the army. Shelley enrolled in Okie State and finished her B.A. degree while I finished my M.A. She taught in Perkins, Oklahoma while I finished my Ph.D. During my last year at OSU our first daughter Rachael was born. Three years later our second daughter Alyssa was born. Three years after that our son Brooks was born. My life is consumed by family, friends, and Lakeland College.