Obituary of Margaret Hall Haake

Much loved mother of three, stepmother, and grandmother of five, Margaret Elizabeth Hall Haake passed away peacefully August 29, 2016. Margaret is survived by two sons, a daughter and a stepdaughter: son Peter Lawrence Dyer of Wellington, New Zealand; daughter Pamela Hall Dyer Hamilton of Old Lyme, Connecticut; son Jonathan Paul Dyer of Napa, California; and stepdaughter Teri Haake Bauhs of Danville, California. She is also survived by her sister Anne Brautigam of Brunswick, ME; brother Dr. Peter Hall of Middletown, DE; sister Judge Catherine Gant of Silverthorne, CO; and sister Teresa Kuehlwein, of Seaford, DE. Margaret is survived, as well, by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren: grandchildren Melanie Margot Dyer of Austin, Texas; Frank Watrous Hamilton IV of New York City; Grant Harris Hamilton of Old Lyme, Connecticut; Scott Bauhs of San Luis Obispo, California; Mark Bauhs of Stockton California; and great-grandchildren, Emma and Ryan Bauhs. Margaret was preceded in death by her first husband John William Dyer and her second husband Robert Fred Haake. Also preceding her in death were her brother John Harris Hall; sister Mary Frances Miksch; and brother David Joseph Hall. Margaret was born 13 July 1933 in Wellsville, New York. She was the fourth of eight children of Father Harris Tremaine Hall and Dorothy Lou Harris Hall. The Halls moved to Mendham, New Jersey in 1937. After Margaret graduated from high school in 1950, the Halls moved again to Marshall, Missouri. Margaret studied at Missouri Valley College beginning that fall. There she met John Dyer. Following John's graduation, she and John were married in June 1952. John and Margaret then moved to Kansas City, Missouri. In April 1959 Margaret came home to northwest New Jersey. The family moved to Annandale, not far from her childhood home in Mendham. In the late 1970s, Margaret and John separated, then divorced. Having interrupted her tertiary education 25 years earlier, she took it up again and graduated from Douglass College with a degree in Women's Studies. Margaret went to work for Chubb Insurance and moved to Union Gap Village in Clinton. There she met Bob Haake. Margaret and Bob were married in October 1982. They bought and moved into a grand old house on Leigh St in November 1985 and, after over a year of hard work restoring and remodeling, opened the Leigh Way bed and breakfast inn. When Bob fell ill, they sold the house and the business and moved to Highland Circle, Annandale in 1990. Bob died in July 1992. Margaret lived there for the rest of her life. Margaret was exceptionally talented and energetic. While raising three children in Annandale she also found time for the piano. Her children's memories of the time are sweetened with strains of Chopin, Beethoven and Johann Strauss. Outside the home, Margaret had an abiding, intense interest in the welfare of her fellow citizens—individually and collectively. Beginning with the Clinton Township PTA, she moved on to serve on the Clinton Township Board of Education; the Clinton Township Council and the Clinton Township Planning Board. She once ran for mayor of Clinton Township, losing by a mere 42 votes. Her hatred of injustice led her to volunteer for Centurion Ministries between 1993 and 1998, making the long drive to Princeton to work to free innocent people from prison. Among the early memories of Margaret's children are her tutoring local children, disadvantaged by poverty but intelligent and eager to learn. Margaret also did volunteer work for the Red Cross, was a proud member of the 200 Club of Hunterdon and drove countless miles through the back woods of Hunterdon delivering Meals on Wheels. There were, however, venues where she left her altruism behind. Among these were the tennis court and, especially, the bridge table. She was a keen competitor, giving no quarter nor expecting any. Margaret was a constant source of love, compassion, good humor, selfless devotion to her community and eagerness to challenge injustice and ignorance wherever she found it. She inspired these traits in her friends and her family. She will be sorely missed. A memorial service will be held on Friday September 2, 2016 at 10:00am at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 98 Sky Manor Road, Pittstown NJ 08867. To share memories with the family or for further information please visit www.martinfh.com In lieu of flowers, donations may be made through In Memory Of for Centurion Ministries at www.inmemoryof-memorial.org. You may also mail your donation payable to In Memory Of and send it to P.O. Box 5472, Charlottesville, VA 22905.