Dorothy Mae Haws

Dorothy Mae Haws was the 2nd of four sisters. Lucille, Lavonne and Carol Jean. First years were in rural Adams County near Juniata, Nebraska until the 8th grade. She then lived in an apartment in Hastings with her older sister Lucille and eventually with younger sister Lavonne. She attended Hastings High School from 1951-1955. Her class was the last one in the old High School Building.

Her 1st job was at the Carter Hotel, training as waitress until they had an opening at the Clarke Hotel. She started there as the Salad girl then as a waitress later for two years.

Dorothy lived with Lucille and Butch Williams while working at the hotel.

While working at the Clarke Hotel she met Betty Lee, sister to Patrick Haws. Betty Lee talked Pat into taking mom out while he was on leave the Fall of 1957.

Dorothy had had only one year of college when she married Patrick on June 7, 1958. She had concentrated on business courses at that time.

Their first time entertaining guests was on his birthday. They had served shrimp. The guests were sister Lavonne and Gary.

They lived in a trailer just over the Kansas border until they moved into a rented farmhouse at the ranch in Kansas. It had an old crank phone. Patrick had a job with neighbor for a few months. Patrick had almost sawed his right leg off when Dorothy wasn’t around.

Patrick then went to work for Harold Weaver (Dorothy’s father) farming from 1959 to 1970.

The family lived on the family homestead farm a quarter mile away down the road from Harold and Bernice Weaver’s place.

Later on, there was a move from the family homestead farm in rural Adams County into the town of Hastings for various reasons. Dorothy mentioned a pivotal moment when she assisted as a parent in Diane’s 4th grade art class at Morton Elementary. The teacher had been very encouraging to Dorothy to go into teaching. In 1972 she went back to school at Hastings College for Art Education, K-12. She graduated in 1974. She started interviewing for teaching positions and accepted one at Medicine Valley Jr-Sr High School. She was daughter Diane’s Art Teacher for 7 & 8th grades. Linda graduated from there. While at Curtis, NE she taught a night extension class for McCook College, 1975-1976.

Dorothy and family spent the summer of 1976 in Kearney to be able to do some studio work for her master’s degree in art education.

During this time Patrick was trucking at the time hauling a variety of loads, mostly livestock. He started trucking with a different company from Omaha, Hunts Transportation. He was often gone for longer periods of time. Dorothy and Pat came to the decision to move the family east to the Omaha area. They settled in Westmont, a subdivision of Papillion. Diane and Paul attended Platteview-Springfield-LaPlatte schools and graduated from there.

Dorothy did not have a teaching position right away but found one at Paul VI from 1978 to 1983 and when they changed names at St Joseph’s from 1983 to 1989 when it closed. Dorothy completed her master’s degree in 1983 from UNL for Art Education.

She opened the Haws Art Gallery/Studio and managed it from 1989 to 1992. Dorothy also took some classes for a C.N.A.

In 1992 her desire to travel and teach led her to a position at the Jane F. Tuitit Elementary School on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. It was during this time that her father’s health declined, and she came back to care for him.

She found a teaching position with the St. Mary’s Catholic School in O’Neill, Nebraska from 1992-1996.

She tried again to teach overseas and was successful in getting a position 1996-1997 at the South Pacific Academy, American Samoa, a US Trust Territory.

Another opportunity came up and she accepted a position at Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System, Mariannas High School from 1997-2002. During her time there she also taught at Hopwood Junior High School and Northern Marianas College, Saipan, MP. It was here that began the great relationship with Eun Young Cho.

Once her contract was done, she returned and worked from 2004-2007, at Madonna School, Omaha, Nebraska. During this time, she started taking Real Estate classes and became a realtor for many years.

Eun Young came in 2005 to live with Dorothy and Pat while she attended UNO for her undergraduate degree. She has become a part of our family, and we have claimed each other.

Dorothy also oversaw the health care of her long-time friend Jean Church who had Alzheimer’s until her death in 2007.

In 2010 Dorothy and Pat became Landlord’s of a 14-unit apartment building in Westmont. This was Pat’s retirement job and kept him busy until his death in June of 2020. Dorothy assisted with the record keeping and assisting Eun Young when she was accepted to graduate school at Ohio State for a Masters of Art.

Dorothy’ life is an inspiration to be admired. She had persevered/pushed and achieved the goals she set out to do no matter the obstacles. She did not let someone tell her she couldn’t do something when she knew she could. Beside family and great-grandchildren one of her greatest joy’s has come from knowing that her passion for Art will be carried on with Eun Young.

Survived by children, Linda Haws, Diane (Kyle) Poppert, Paul Haws, and Eun Young Cho (Syeng Pyo Lee); sisters, Carol Jean (Larry) Hardesty and LaVonne (Gary) Albright; grandchildren, Patrick Haws-Larsen, Andrew Niebur, Alecz (Oscar) Alverado, and Devon Niebur-Haws; four great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by husband, Patrick Haws; parents, Harold and Bernice Weaver; granddaughter, Elizabeth Poppert; sister, Lucille Williams.

FUNERAL SERVICE 2 p.m., Monday, November 25, 2024, at Roeder Mortuary, 11710 Standing Stone, Gretna, NE, with VISITATION from 1 to 2 p.m.

INTERMENT Omaha National Cemetery at a later date.