DR. HELMUT HABER

1926 - 2017

BORN

1926

DIED

2017

HELMUT HABER Obituary

DR. HELMUT HABER Helmut G. Haber passed away Aug. 21, 2017, at the age of 91. He was born Feb. 1, 1926, in Berlin, Germany. He got his first dental education there, graduating in 1951 and practicing dentistry in Berlin, where he met his wife, Erna. Upon coming to this country in 1955, he worked first as a laboratory technician for the South Shore Dental Laboratory in Chicago. He started his second dental education at the University of Illinois Navy Pier in 1954, going over to the College of Dentistry in 1956 and graduating in 1960 at the top of his class. Alpha Omega awarded him the plaque for the highest scholastic achievements during four years of Dental School. Helmut and his wife, Erna, belonged to several German-oriented civic and social organizations. He is survived by his wife, of 63 years, Erna; his daughter, Sigrid Eichelkraut (Harry); son, Michael Haber (Patti); five grandchildren, Christopher Eichelkraut (Melva), Christina Sampson (Judd), Daniel Haber (Erin), Robert Haber (Jessica) and Nicole Valentine (Derek); and his great-grandchild, Jenna Valentine. All services are private.

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Published by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Aug. 27, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for HELMUT HABER

2 Entries

Diane and Jim Hellard

September 4, 2017

Helmut was a wonderful neighbor and he loved our lemon tree. He will be greatly missed by our family and of course by his own. With deep sympathy from your friends at this time of sadness. Diane and Jim

Erna and Helmut Haber (Opi and Omi)

Christina Sampson

September 3, 2017

My grandfather, Opi to me, taught me how to play a prank. This will not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with his often-mischievous sense of humor.

When I was still in grade school, Opi and Omi took me for a week-long trip to San Diego. The trip, a rare event during which I had my grandparents all to myself, remains a highlight of my entire childhood. We went to the San Diego Zoo, of course, but that was just one small part of what was a series of epic adventures. We stayed up late one night and snuck onto the hotel roof in an attempt to see a meteor shower. I went to and swam in the ocean for the first time. We rented a car and drove to San Francisco where we toured the underground cities built by Chinese railroad workers. We went on a walkabout of downtown San Diego that I'm certain is what cemented my love of big city concrete jungles.

But my favorite memory of that entire trip and the part that, to me, best personifies who Opi were our elevator rides in the hotel.

Fellow riders would often ask my thickly-accented German grandparents where they were from. And Opi always had an answer, but it was never Germany. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Italyanywhere but Germany.

Sometimes, a puzzled rider would tentatively mention that they would've thought Austria, maybe, or Germany, perhaps? But Opi always politely but firmly insisted, no, they were mistaken. I would hold my breath and hide behind my grandma to keep my giggles from escaping and when the invariably nonplussed riders exited the elevator we would laugh all the way to the lobby or our room.

I didn't know this had made as much of an impression on Opi as it had on me until at my college graduation, after introducing Opi to one of my professors, the professor asked Opi where he was from. Without missing a beat, Opi said, Scotland, can't you tell? The professor glanced questioningly at me and I simply added, Edinburgh before politely exiting the situation. This is perhaps my most treasured memory of Opi, even now.

More than my grandfather, Opi was one of my greatest teachers. I learned so much from him, both trivial and not, including how to ride a 10-speed bicycle, how to write in cursive and address a letter (we were regular pen pals for basically my entire life), how to use the library's copier and how the stock market works (he made me read Peter Lynch's Learn to Earn when I was in eighth grade).

Whether it was gardening, the planetarium, bike rides in Blue Diamond (stopping to explain the geology), hikes to Warm Springs or even just a ride on Luxor's new, innovative 45-degree tilt elevator, when Opi came by the house to pick me up I always knew the world would be just a bit bigger that day when I came home than when I left.

Before taking me on a hike to hot springs, he took me the library and we read about where they came from and what they were. Before trips to the planetarium, he would find newspaper clippings or magazine articles about the star system or planet the show was going to be on. If I had a question he couldn't answer, a few days later I'd be invited to spend the night with him and Omi and usually an atlas and several editions of the New World Book Encyclopedia would be involved that evening in finding the answer.

But the most important and lasting lesson Opi taught me was one he never put in words or directly stated, but rather showed me through his own life: To never stop learning and to always be willing to adapt.

Opi was always in the process of bettering himself and learning something new, whether it was learning to speak Spanish, taking a fitness class or attempting to learn how to use a computer. For a brief period of time every family function ended with a dessert of jelly with pieces of fruit in it because Opi was determined to learn how to make a fruit-laden jelly dessert that didn't collapse around the fruit.

Life was meant to be lived, and Opi always lived it to the fullest. When my husband and I still lived in Las Vegas, every October we would have my parents and Omi and Opi for a kind of pre-Halloween coffee klatsch. I'd make a ridiculous themed dessert, like Oreo dirt with worms and Milano cookies decorated as tombstones, or a fondue cauldron. Opi always showed up in full costume or, at the very least, a mask. I've yet to meet anyone to this day who embraced the spirit of a celebration better.

So the best way I can think to honor all that my grandfather gave me is to follow his example. To always work on bettering myself, challenge myself to learn something new and, should anyone ever ask me where I'm from, maybe fib a little just for fun.