The Reverend Ferdinand K.W. Haase, age 93, of Henrietta, NY, was called home to join the saints who have gone before him in God’s heavenly kingdom on November 23, 2024, surrounded by friends and family.

Pastor Haase was born in Kassel, Germany to Carl and Elisabeth (nee Bocklisch) Haase on July 7, 1931, the eldest of 5 children. He attended school in Kassel and Bad Wildungen, where he learned 4 languages, in addition to German. The church was a source of hope and joy growing up. It was when he attended confirmation instruction that he resolved to serve the church as a pastor. After graduating from high school, Pastor Haase attended Phillipps Universitat in Marburg, Germany. While there, he received a 1-year scholarship to attend the Graduate School of Theology in Oberlin, Ohio, and subsequently attended The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA. He was ordained on Palm Sunday, March 30, 1958.

Pastor Haase met Peggy Bean while studying at Oberlin College, and they were married on June 5, 1956 in Oberlin. Pastor Haase served in the Lutheran church for over 40 years at parishes in Pennsylvania and New York. His final call was to Rochester, NY, serving a bi-lingual church conducting services in German as well as English. Pastor Haase had a lifelong passion for learning, earning educational certificates in photography from Cannon Company. Upon retirement, he enrolled in a wide variety of on-line “My Courses” programs. After Peggy’s death in 2010 he joined Osher, the Lifelong Learning Center at RIT, where he attended a wide range of classes, taught one himself, and met other people who became dear friends, who shared his thirst for knowledge and discourse. He continued to participate in these classes up until the week before his death.

Pastor Haase is preceded in death by his loving wife, Peggy Haase, his sister Rosemarie Burlingame and Brothers Jochen and Manfred Haase.

He is survived by his children, Karen (Brian) Arrighetti, Lawrence (Karen) Haase, Claudia Quirk and Joanne (Patrick) Scanlon; sister Ingeburg Lubke; grandchildren Jonathan (Michelle Balcom) Straton, Aimee (Sean) Parmalee, Katherine (Jessie) Ballard, Kyle Straton, Kristen Quirk, Jenna (Alexandra Vasso) Arrighetti; great grandchildren Jackson “O” Straton, Harold Parmalee and Julia Parmalee; and his very dear friends, Maaja Roos, Jane Eggleston, and Pam and Steve Brady.

A Celebration of Pastor Haase’s life will be held at 2pm on Saturday, January 4, 2025 at Atonement Lutheran Church, 1900 Westfall Road, Rochester, NY.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lutheran World Federation, Chemin du Pavillon 2, 1218 Le Grand Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland or on line at Lutheranworld.org, or to a charity of your choice.