Frederick Haakensen, known by family, friends and acquaintances as the "Hawk," lived each day looking forward.
Despite great human losses in his life as well as his own overwhelming medical challenges, Hawk had the ability to cherish each and every day. Hawk occasionally would reflect on the past, but would not dwell on things out of his control...except for politics. :-)
He always forged forward, even in difficult times. Hawk touched the lives of so many people. He would always meet new people and touch their hearts with a generous smile, joke or laughter. He had the ability to talk with anyone and quickly made new friends, even though he knew his own life was ending soon.
Hawk was a man of God. I will always admire his natural gift with people and miss his deep, hardy laugh. I miss his witty sense of humor. I admired his independence, and his will to live life to the fullest. I admired both his physical and mental strength as he aged.
Even at the very end of life, Hawk was able to smile and still find humor.
As most of us were already mourning inside, he was still managing to make us laugh and smile. We can all imagine what it is like to actually face death, but none of us will really know until we face it ourselves. Hawks approach during difficult times is one that I admire. As a man of God, who always looked forward, he knew where he was heading. It's no wonder why he was still smiling. That in itself should make all of us smile.
