Mary Hassell "Hass" MAXSON

MAXSON, Mary Hassell "Hass" Entrepreneur, teacher, pilot, wife, mother and grandmother Mary Hassell "Hass" Maxson died January 31, 2018 in Tucson. She was 85. A Memorial Service is scheduled for Friday, June 8, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona. In addition to following her father into business and real estate, Hass competed in cross-country air races, collected people, nurtured a large extended family, traveled internationally, and volunteered for a variety of organizations. Hass was born in Quitman, Arkansas, on January 20, 1933 to Sally Valentine Hassell Middleton and Edwin Gladstone Middleton. She graduated from Quitman High School in 1950, earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas in 1954 and worked for the Humble Oil Co. in Texas for a year. Hass married Edwin Russell Maxson in 1955. She earned her teaching certificate from the University of Texas at Austin in 1967, and, as one of only two white teachers, was instrumental in integrating high schools in Alexandria, Louisiana. Hass also taught high school business classes in Arkansas and took advantage of her husband's Air Force career to buy and sell real estate around the country. The Maxsons moved to Tucson in 1979, and she began her tax preparation and accounting career as well as teaching business classes at a local community college. The couple relocated to Sedona in 1985 and started a flying service called Aerovision, which she ran after her husband's death in 1993. Hass earned her CPA in 1993 when she was 60, and opened her own accounting firm. She ran the business until she semi-retired in 2009, but continued to help a handful of longtime clients as well as volunteering to prepare income tax returns for those in need. A longtime pilot, Hass soloed in 1964. She competed in the all-women's Air Race Classic, originally known as the Powder Puff Derby, in 1989, 1990 and 1992. In addition to the Ninety-Nines - an international women pilot's organization - Hass was active in Soroptimist International, volunteered at the Sedona Public Library, and was treasurer of the Canyon Mesa Homeowners Association Board. She rekindled her passion for bridge after she retired. She never tired of seeing new places. Her last business card read Hass (Mary) Maxson, "will travel." Hass is survived by daughters, Cynthia Ann Maxson Wood and Trish Maxson; granddaughters, Mary and Elizabeth Wood and Rebekah White, grandsons, Tucker Maxson and Jonathan Martin; daughter-in-law, Teresa Martin and son-in-law, Rod Martin. She was preceded in death by her son, Michael; her husband, Edwin; her brother, Charles; son-in-law, Ward Brown and son-in-law, Keith Wood. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Mary M. Maxson Honors College Academy Scholarship in Business at the University of Arkansas or the charity of your choice. Scholarship donations can be sent to: University of Arkansas Gift Services, 1002 West Maple Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701-9980. Please make checks payable to the University of Arkansas Foundation. Condolences can be posted with Hass's obituary on Legacy.com. Arrangements by ANGEL VALLEY FUNERAL HOME.