Hesh2, Iceman's dad, passed yesterday

[JohnR]

I just saw from his son Bill, that Walter Haesche, a/k/a Hesh2, passed away yesterday.

There is nothing I can add to Bill's wonderful tribute to his dad beyond hugs to the family, and Godspeed.

My Father Walter R Haesche passed away yesterday. He died of a lonely heart. I take comfort in knowing that he is with my Mother Marianne in Heaven. I believe he is in a better place with my Mom, I also believe in Heaven and in God. Knowing my father though, he might not get to see my Mom immediately as he’s most likely going to spend some time in Purgatory first.


What can you say about a guy who meant everything to you? The Man who raised 4 Children and had 3 boys and then went for the girl and got her. The Man who you knew you better do the best you could and to do well in school, finish your chores, and help out your Mother at all times or there would be consequences. Not like today’s consequences where you get a pat on the back! The Man who always stressed to us that he wanted ALL of his children to do better than he did and be more successful than him. The very same Man who paid for braces for us all of us, sent us all to private high schools, Notre Dame and Sacred Heart respectively. The Man who paid for our college educations, and if that were not enough, my MBA. My head spins trying to raise 2 children, I don’t know how he raised 4.


My Dad had two passions in life, hockey and fishing and he was very good at both. This guy had me skating at age 3, most kids were 5 and 6. I remember “whipping” around the ice with the chair and him following me then soon enough I didn’t need the chair anymore. He Coached both my brothers and myself. He even became Hamden Youth Hockey President and his name will remain in eternity in the Home of the Green Dragons rink. He went on to say that taking that position was a nightmare, it wasn’t the kids necessarily but dealing with the Parents. Sound familiar? I think we face the same challenges today. Meet the new Boss same as the old Boss.


This same man, who in my entire hockey career, only missed one of my hockey games as he had to work that day. Just one game missed in maybe a 1,000? It was a semi-final high-school game against new powerhouse Immaculate. We were down 1-0 with three minutes remaining. I popped 2 quick G’s thanks to great passes by Kevin Baker and we won 2-1. We won the D1 State Championship that year. I was so excited to tell him, when I got home we both cried. That was the first time I ever saw my Dad cry. He was a man’s man.


Countless hours spent on the road driving me to Connecticut Cup, Europa Cup, Hockey Night in Boston, All Star Teams, Special Tournaments, and Hockey Camps. You name it and my Dad was always there for me. Playing in college for the RWU Hawks, in 4 years, either home or away, my father never missed a game! They built a warming room just for him at our home rink the Portsmouth Abbey. I always played the game of hockey trying to please my Dad and make him proud of me. That sentiment extended throughout my entire life, I was always trying to please the old man and make him proud. The thing I like best about my Dad was that he would never sit with other parents during my hockey games, he would always stand on the glass in the corner of the opposing goalie and he loved to watch me score and I didn’t disappoint him. He just didn’t want to deal with the nonsense of other parents and liked to enjoy the game by himself and had to be really in the rink and not in the stands to experience the game firsthand. I followed his lead and watch the game the same way watching the GH’s.


My Dad was the best fisherman I knew. He always had a big smile on his face while fishing. Always willing to share knowledge with other fisherman. Every fish for my father, was like catching his first fish. He got so excited when he landed a fish. My Dad always out -casted me even at age 77, he was a master caster. And unlike his son who is a killer, my dad always practiced catch and release before it was fashionable to catch and release fish. Let every fish go! Many countless days and nights fishing with him at Chatham Inlet, the Back Beaches of Cape Cod all the way to Race Point, the Bird Sanctuary and Short Beach in Milford, Madison, and off the beaches and breachways of Rhode Island. I remember him being 72 and he was standing on the end rock at Weekapaug Breachway crushing fish after fish with a big smile across his face. Way too old to be on an end rock with crashing surf all around him, I could only admire his tenacity and pure love for the sport of fishing. He tired me out that day! My Dad pretty much in his retirement fished every single day of his life.


My Dad was a grease monkey all his life. Working at the gas station since age 15. Fixing cars and pumping gas, his work ethic was second to none. He would go on to say later in life how cold those concrete floors were in January when he was on his back fixing cars. He could fix anything and it wasn’t only limited to cars, he could fix any appliance you name it, he had the one thing I struggle with the most, patience. My Dad had an awesome set of tools which he kept meticulously in order. He went into business with his Father which is never easy and my Dad did all the heavy lifting. After, who knows really how many years, the lease came up for the Gas Station and it was owned by Parkway Texaco. He brought them to court and beat them. Now he feel he undefeated! It was one of his best accomplishments of his professional career, going against the almighty Corporation and beating them. Yup, My Dad was a gas station owner in some prime real estate right off exit 61 on Whitney Avenue. His ship came in. He was even smarter not to be busting his ass anymore and leased it out and him and my Mom wrote their own ticket from there on in.


So, I’m working at Instinet, the New York Stock Exchange, and FINRA and my Dad is picking better stocks than me, talking about mutual funds, IRA’s, diversification, I soon realized how smart he really was. He knew everything that was going on in the markets and I would often go to him for financial advice. Every move my Dad seemed to make was the right move. My Dad was an avid book reader. He was the one who lead me to countless Authors, he would sometimes plow through a book a week. He probably read about 40 books a year, no lie. As the years went on, I realized how great my father really was and came to hold him in the highest regard. No matter where I was, I always called my father every night for the last 30 years. We talked every single night for an hour, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, sometimes after a Boars championship, it would be a 3 AM call and he always answered. This is what I’ll miss most of all, talking to my best friend.


Angel came down from heaven yesterday, he stayed with me just long enough to rescue me and he told me a story yesterday about the sweet love between the moon and the deep blue sea and then he spread his wings high over me, he said he's gonna come back tomorrow.