ROMAINE (Ash) HASS
Romaine (Ash) Hass passed peacefully after a brief illness, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, surrounded by her loving family. Born on October 23, 1926, Romaine was the daughter of the late Lillias M. Ash and Richard Palmer Ash. She was the epitome of a life well-lived whose legacy will live on in her beloved children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She wed her childhood sweetheart, Joseph A. Hass, December, 1947, and they spent 67 years together until his death in August, 2014. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1948, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics. Taking after her mother, she went into teaching and taught kindergarten through sixth grade over the years.
Romaine was a very giving woman and was always bringing custards or raisin squares to her elderly friends and neighbors, or taking them on excursions. She loved to read, swim, sew, and cook. Some of her interests over the years included astrology, calligraphy, sketching, and writing stories. She and Joe loved all kinds of dancing and, at one time, were challenge level square dancers.
Romaine shared her time in Connecticut with new friends and her very dear, old friend, Jim Block. To the very end of her life, her passions included getting to know new people, walking in the sunshine, watching and feeding birds, swinging on a swing, and playing endless games of cribbage - finding new card-playing partners wherever she could. She was a faithful and loyal friend who touched many lives throughout her life. Her “Pollyanna” attitude, her strong moral code, and her joie de vivre were contagious. She could always be enticed to enjoy a lobster roll and did so as often as possible.
She is survived by her daughters, Helene Holmes (Steven), Christy Dlugolenski (Robert), and Heather Riess, and son, Mark Roger Hass (Veronica); grandchildren ~ C.J. Holmes (Stefanie), Abigail Holmes, Sarah Greco (Tyler), Eric Dlugolenski, Emily Riess, Mikaela and Julie Hass; as well as great-grandchildren ~ Caleb and Cameron Holmes, and Kaley and Alexandra Greco. She also leaves her dear sister, Beverly Jones and her fiancé Eddie Bibby, plus many devoted nieces and nephews. She will be sorely missed by her dear sister-in-law, Marjorie (Hass) Noon, and her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Rita and John R. Hass. She leaves her many friends who were beneficiaries of the joy she shared over her lifetime.
Romaine’s family is forever indebted to the doctors, nurses, volunteers and staff at the Middlesex Hospital Hospice and Palliative Care.
A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, on Saturday, July 8, at 11 a.m. A private interment will be at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the United Churches of Durham (Accessibility Ramp Fund), or to Middlesex Hospital Hospice & Palliative Care, Middletown, CT.
