A graveside service will be held for Wilsford A. "Skeeter" Haag, on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:30 pm, at Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian, MS. Dr. Raymon Leake will officiate at the service, and the Robert Barham Family Funeral Home will be in charge of arrangements. Mr. Haag passed away on April 12, 2010 at St Dominic Hospital in Jackson, MS. He was born in Westpoint, MS on February 6, 1912, to Carrie Champion Haag and Hans Peter Haag. His family moved to Meridian when he was a child, and he remained there throughout his life. He attended school through the Meridian Public School system and married Mary Eloise McRae on June 17, 1933. He worked with Southern Railroad before joining the Meridian Police Department, where he rose through the ranks to become the Assistant Chief of Police. He was an exemplary leader as the President of the Mississippi-Tennessee Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, as an officer of the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Association, and as head of the Police Welfare Association. He also held several offices with the Fraternal Order of Police, where he was a member for 20 years. Throughout Mr. Haag's life, he sought to "make a difference." During a trip to Germany to visit his son, Mr. Haag noticed that each emergency branch was represented by a different color light on its vehicles. After his return to the United States, he was instrumental in the regulation of all police vehicles to house blue lights as well as rezoning certain streets in downtown Meridian as one-way streets. He was the Director of the Safety Patrol of the Meridian City Schools, and on one occasion, he coordinated a trip to Washington, D.C. for a group of safety patrol pupils, where they were guests of the District's police force. For his outstanding service to the youth of Meridian, he was awarded the D. P. Dear Memorial Trophy by the Mississippi Chapter of the Order of DeMolay. Mr. Haag had many interests and hobbies. He enjoyed singing, and performed with a choral group at the Temple Theatre as well as other venues. For some years, he hosted the Gospel Quartet Hour, a weekly radio program on WMOX Radio in Meridian. He was also a long standing member of the First Baptist Church, where he was a Deacon. After his retirement, he worked with stained glass and spent many happy hours at home in his well equipped woodworking shop, where he created pieces of furniture and heirlooms that his family will cherish for generations. Although there are many individuals and organizations that have been invaluable to Mr. Haag in recent years, the family specifically wishes to thank Fred Edmiston, a former next-door-neighbor, Dr. Ronald Purvis, another former next-door-neighbor, and Bill Emmons, a former Sunday School classmate from the First Baptist Church. Due to their continued friendship and frequent visits to Mr. Haag, he was enabled to remain independent in his home up until recently, even though his vision and hearing were quite limited. He was admired and loved by all who knew him, and will be greatly missed. He is survived by his daughter, Julianne Haag Noblin and son-in-law, William C. "Buddy" Noblin, Jr. of Jackson, MS; grandchildren, Robert Lorne Haag, Cheryl Haag Rush and her husband Mike, and Stacy Lee Haag, all of Alexandria, VA, Karen Haag Sheleg and her husband David, of Brattleboro, Vermont, and Julie Noblin Johnson and her husband, Jonathan, of Atlanta, GA; great-grandchildren, Sean Michael Rush and Kara Ann Rush of Alexandria, VA, Matthew Scott Sheleg and Jessica Suzanne Sheleg of Brattleboro, Vermont and Sydney McRae Johnson, Jonathan Yale Johnson, Jr. and William Haag Johnson, all of Atlanta, GA. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Ethel McRae Meador, of Gulfport, MS. Mr. Haag was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Mary Eloise McRae Haag, in 1997, and his son, Wilsford A. "Billy" Haag, Jr. in 2003. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church at P.O. Box 1509, Meridian, MS 39302. Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:00 pm at the Robert Barham Family Funeral Home, 6300 Highway 39, Meridian, MS 39305.
