DOWNEY - Richard J. "Dick" Haiden, of Mason City, Iowa, died Dec. 14 at Good Shepherd Health Center.A Mass of Christian burial was held Dec. 17 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mason City with Rev. Kenneth B. Gehling officiating. Interment followed at Memorial Park Cemetery, where Haiden received military honors from the Iowa Military Funeral Honor Guard. Haiden was born on Dec. 14, 1922 on a farm just north of Millerville, Minn., the son of Joseph and Mary (Hermas) Haiden. He was one of 11 brothers and sisters. He spent his childhood on the farm and attended St. Mary Parochial School in Millerville through eighth grade before continuing to Brandon High School. In January of 1941, he enlisted in the Civilian Conservation Corps. and served 18 months at Co. 3709 in Walker, Minn., doing a variety of work mostly centered on land reforestation that had been logged for lumber in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He returned home and helped his dad on the farm until April of 1943 when he entered the military. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Force and served with the First Emergency Rescue Squadron in the European Theater Eight Air Force as an aircraft sheet metal worker. Reassigned to the 7th Emergency Squadron, he served in the Asiatic and Pacific theaters. He received his honorable discharge on Dec. 4, 1945. He then attended St. John's University for three semesters and the Dunwoody Industrial Institute in Minneapolis for 18 months to learn the sheet metal trade. He worked in mostly heating, air conditioning and ventilation but also blow pipe and architectural sheet metal. He taught evening classes in the Los Angeles Joint Apprenticeship Program in the L.A. school system for 15 years. Haiden married Lucile Luketic of East Chicago, Ind., on Nov. 4, 1956. Their daughter, Ann Marie, died Dec. 10, 1960. He married Mae Studer in Santa Fe Springs on May 19, 1962. A daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born to this union. Haiden was a current member of Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 105 in Los Angeles, Knights of Columbus 1006, a fourth degree member of Msgr. Daughter Assembly, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 733 and American Legion Post No. 101. He is survived by his wife, Mae; daughters, Ann Haiden of Los Gatos and Mary (Cameron) Skill of Downey; grandchildren, Michelle and Elizabeth Skill of Downey; brother-in-law, Gerald (Kitty) Studer of Mason City; sisters-in-law, Julia Jarvis of Guntersville, Ala., and Mary Ann (Matt) Haiden; brother, Joseph; and sisters, Isabel Barker, Josephine (Richard) Sperl and Joan (Ross) Prout. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Mary Haiden; wife, Lucile; an infant sister, Margaret Anna; brothers, James, Mathias, Herbert and Raymond; sister, Margaret May; brothers-in-law, George Kelch, Ed Downs, Fred Jarvis, Leo Young and Earnest Gerdis; sisters-in-law, Phylis Kelch, Rita Young, Elaine Downs, Rose Gerdis and Marlys (Raymond) Haiden.

********** Published: January 12, 2012 - Volume 10 - Issue 39