Charles Frederick Haas

Charles Frederick Haas, 89, prominent oilman and outstanding Corpus Christi athlete, passed away on January 21, 2007, following a lengthy illness. A Memorial Service will be 2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Seaside Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Frank Fuller officiating. He was born on Feb. 2, 1917, in Edinburg, Texas to Fred E. Haas and Nora B. Haas. The family moved to Corpus Christi in 1927. While attending Corpus Christi High School, Charlie began to display his abilities as a four-sport standout, taking him to great heights in athletics and later in life. In 1936 he enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin on an athletic scholarship where he continued to display his remarkable talents in football and baseball. Charlie married his high school sweetheart, Eunice Cox, on Sept. 5, 1939, and was soon after drafted by the Boston Red Sox. He returned to the University of Texas where he graduated with a BS in geology in 1941. Upon graduating he was employed by the Chicago Corporation as a consulting geologist with the responsibility of development and drilling in the Stratton Field near Bishop, Texas and was employed by Heep Oil & Gas. In 1950 he became an independent oil and gas operator creating Haas Drilling. Later his brother Richard E. Haas joined him in forming Haas Brothers Drilling Company in the mid 50s. As an independent geologist in the mid 60s he started C.F. Haas Oil and Gas Inc. where he purchased Sinton Gas Gathering Systems and accumulated various producing properties in San Patricio, Jackson, Wharton and Nueces counties. Haas served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Commerce, and was a past president of Coastal Bend Youth City and a lifetime member on their Board of Directors. He was a member of the Corpus Christi Geological Society and a founding member of the Laguna Madre Fisherman's Association, Anahias Fishing Club and former member of the Port Aransas Rod & Reel Club. He served as president of the University of Texas Longhorn Club in Austin, the "T" Letterman Association of the University of Texas, and the Statewide Longhorn Club. He also served as a steering committee member for the UT College of Engineering and was a founding member of the University of Texas "One Hundred Club". Mr. and Mrs. Haas established three scholarships at the University of Texas: the Haas Family Endowed Presidential Scholarship for the Handicapped, and Endowed Presidential Scholarship honoring his parents, Fred and Nora Haas, dedicated to assisting young students seeking higher education, and a scholarship benefiting students from Corpus Christi. He was also a contributor to the University of Texas Cancer Center. In 1972 he was voted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and elected into the University Of Texas Baseball Hall Of Honor in 1974. An avid sheep hunter, he was one of less than twenty in the world to have the distinction of holding a Double Grand Slam in the Boone & Crockett North American Sheep category at the time of his accomplishment. Upon his retirement in 1979, Eunice and Charlie moved to Horseshoe Bay, Texas. In 1983 he realized the longtime dream of purchasing the Wardner Ranch near Bishop, Texas, the property where he began his career as a geologist with the Chicago Corp in 1941. Charlie was a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd for the past 55 years. Mr. Haas was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Richard E. Haas, his sister Virginia L. Haas, and grandson, Charles Clayton Haas. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Eunice C. Haas; sons, Dudley Charles Haas and wife, Betty of Waco, Richard Albert Haas and wife, Janis of Corpus Christi; daughter, Suzanne Louise Roberts and husband, Steve of Port Aransas, Texas. He is also survived by nine grandchildren, Kristen Haas Barlow and husband, Richard Eugene Jr. "Ricky" of Waco, Tamara Lee Koen and husband, William of Austin, Texas, Dudley Charles Haas II and wife, Catherine "Katie" of Waco, Richard Bradford Haas and wife, Toni of Kerrville, Texas, Colton Bryan Haas and wife, Alyson of Georgetown, Texas, Keri L. Kimel of Round Rock, Texas, Emily Suzanne Haas of Corpus Christi, Texas, Douglas Charles Atkins and wife, Melissa of La Porte, Texas, Darrell James Atkins and wife, Robbi of Corpus Christi, Texas; seven great-grandchildren, Joseph Winston Moran, Patrick Wade Moran, and Charles Walker Moran of Austin, Texas, Charles Clayton Kimel of Corpus Christi, Hunter Tyler Atkins of La Porte, Texas, Rylee Elizabeth Atkins of Corpus Christi, and Mary Harper Haas of Waco, Texas. Pallbearers will be Dudley Charles Haas II, Richard Bradford Haas, Colton Bryan Haas, Douglas Charles Atkins, Darrell James Atkins and Jimmy King. Honorary Pallbearers are Clyde Wright, Elbert Cox, Steve Roberts, Richard C. Haas, Paul Wimberly, Bob Throwbridge, Chester Wheless and John Wright. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Seaside Funeral Home, Corpus Christi February 2, 1917 - January 21, 2007 Sign the Guest Book at wacotrib.com