Obituary of Peter Gilbert Haeussler

Peter Gilbert Haeussler, most recently of Excelsior, Minnesota, passed away from dementia-related complications on May 30, 2025 after spending the entire previous day holding the hand of his loving wife of 68 years.

Pete is survived by his wife, Betty; son, Brett (Raquel); daughter, Jill (Ted); brother, Philip (Barbara); four granddaughters.

Shortly after his birth on October 15, 1936 in Mount Holly, New Jersey, Pete’s parents moved to Maryland.  Pete graduated from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland in 1954.  He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, which sent him to California for surveyors’ training.  He served as a Seabee for four years on the island of Bermuda, but not before marrying his high school sweetheart, Betty Lucille Fletcher, in September of 1956.  Following his military service, Pete completed a five-year architecture program at Montana State University, graduating in 1964.  The happy couple returned to Maryland to raise their family.

With Mountain Dew and a daily gin martini coursing through his veins, Pete was a gentle, precise, and unassuming man with boundless patience and dedication.  He was an avid bowler, joining his church’s league in 1976 and continuing until 2024 in the Wii bowling league at his assisted living community.  Although his bowling average may have fluctuated, his dedication to the sport never did.  His architectural background and creativity led him to construct Halloween costume masterpieces throughout his children’s elementary years.  He curated and catalogued a formidable Beta video collection, a testament to his early adoption and steadfast loyalty to technology.  He was also a voracious reader, keeping lists of the many titles he read.  While his heart truly belonged to classical music, he dabbled in other musical genres with an open mind, proving there’s always more to learn and enjoy.  His granddaughters were surprised to learn after his passing that he had been a devoted fan of the music from the television show Glee.

Donations may be made either to WETA in honor of Pete’s profound love for classical music and public broadcasting or to the Hearing Loss Association of America as hearing loss compounds the risk of developing dementia.