Arnold Lou Haag

August 27, 1954 - March 10, 2020

Arnold (Arnie) Lou Haag, 65 years 6 months and 14 days, went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus after a valiant fight against Lung Cancer March 10, 2020 at his home in Kennewick with the love of his life by his side and surrounded by his 3 children. Arnie was born in Pasco, WA, on August 27, 1954, the middle child of two proud and loving parents, Arnold and Louise. His sister Debbie was only a year and half older, his brother Lonnie was 9 years 5 months younger. His Mom Louise once said Arnie was her "BABY" and that's what she had called him, until Lonnie was born. Jodie realized later, that it explained a lot about Arnie. He was a tough guy with a baby face, tender heart, and beautiful blue eyes. He used to tell us stories of how guys would pick fights with him because he was big and strong, just to try to prove they were tougher. He told us he never picked a fight, he wasn't ever looking for a fight, but if someone hit him first, he was going to finish it. He grew up hunting out at Juniper Forest, he enjoyed shooting birds, but never could shoot a deer. He was just too much of a softie with their big eyes looking up at you. He grew up doing boy things, pushing the limit - racing motorcycles through farmer's fields, telling us a story where once a farmer shot at him as they were riding on his private property. Jumping off the cable bridge, he told us it felt like his knees went through his chest. The infamous Pasco flumes, tempting death. Fishing with his buddies, boating. His first car was a lime green roadrunner. How cool is that. In 1975 at a Bachmann Turner Overdrive/Chuck Berry concert with friends is where he first saw his sweetheart. He says he knew then, she says she was on a date. He later found her again when his mom came home to tell him there was a beautiful teller down at People's Bank with no ring and he better get down there. He always went there to cash his paychecks; at the time he was managing "My Place Tavern" where RF McDougall's is now for his dad. Legend goes he went through the drive through and asked her out, she said no, I don't date customers.. One evening Jodie was at RF McDougall's with a date and she saw him behind the bar, she saw his gorgeous blue eyes and he was wearing a baby blue shirt, she later said his eyes SPARKLED like CRYSTAL, she recognized him as the guy who kept coming through the bank drive up asking her for a date. He saw her and when her date went to the restroom, he came over and asked again to go out with him. He was always ready to give it his best shot. This time she said yes. Jodie remembers one of their first dates, he took her out to Juniper Forrest on his CZ 400 motorcycle, they rode the dunes and enjoyed the outdoors, until the chain broke. They had to walk the motorcycle back to town. This endeared him to her, although he felt embarrassed. Jodie always said it was his Beautiful Crystal Blue Eyes and Tender Heart that won her heart. On their 3rd date he bought her a gift, a necklace with a wedding set charm on it. The rest as they say is history, they were married November 12, 1977. They honeymooned in Seattle and saw a 60s group perform, The Spiral Staircase. It was a dinner theatre, and they remember the line from the song, "I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow". This held true for their life together. They raised 3 children and went on to become the proud grandparents of 6. They recently celebrated their 42nd anniversary and were looking forward to many more. 45 plus years together, they went snow skiing, water skiing, loved the ocean. He enjoyed visits to Vancouver, WA, where Jodie came from, visiting with family there. He told her if she'd live in Tri-Cities she could go visit them as often as she wanted. Arnie's Grandpa Joe's brother Howard also lived in Washougal and had many children there, so there was a lot of family there to visit. It's hard to pick specific times to share as there are so many. Friends and Family get togethers too numerous to recant. They would go to Mountain Meadows on Mt Hood to ski. One time in February the snow was about a foot deep here in Tri-Cities, and they were heading to Mt Hood where Jodie's sisters Debbie, Linda and Dan and Mom and Gene rented a cabin for the weekend. The snow covered the highway all the way, they went with their friends Donna and Larry Leighton who had borrowed a VW Van, which doesn't heat up very well. Snow was everywhere and you couldn't tell you were on the highway unless you started veering off because it would get bumpy. They had a marvelous time and glad they didn't let the storm stop them. That's how they lived. Their first child Freedom was born on the 4th of July in 1979. She is his baby doll. Believe it or not, Arnie had picked out the name Freedom, from a beautiful girl in a movie he had seen, imagine their surprise when Jodie went into labor that morning. They moved to Vancouver while Arnie was a Carpenter and he worked on the Bonneville Dam extension. Later, Mount St Helens was shooting plumes of smoke up daily, and Jodie really tried to convince him to move where they both had family in Vancouver, but he said I am never going to move where all those volcanos are. As a young family, they lived on Beech St in Kennewick. They had their second daughter Kristen in December 1980. She was born before ultrasounds and due to her slow heart rate, they had thought she would be a boy. When she was born, Arnie said, "she's not blue, she's pink". They didn't have anything pink, so Arnie went to the hospital gift shop to buy a pink outfit, it said, "Sweet Baby Girl" and she is. He now had his sis. Next came Heath, the boy they had waited for. He came along in August 1982 completing their family. They had an interesting ride to the hospital. On the way, one of the t headlights of their truck kept fluttering. He kept trying to fix it as he drove, and Jodie was in full BLOWN labor saying get me to the hospital already. This is who he was, always trying to fix things, ready to get it done. Heath came quickly, they did not have to pay for the delivery room, as he was born in the labor room while Jodie was still in her street shirt. Arnie was always a hard worker. When he wanted to get their kids a swing set, it came disassembled, because they didn't think they needed to pay for assembly when they could just get it done. It took them all day to get it together and the kids loved it. Arnie made our back yard a beautiful fun place for the kids, he loved working in the yard, and their yard was always green and well-manicured. When they built their house on 26th Place, Arnie worked alongside his Dad to build it. He always got it done and wasn't afraid of a little hard work. Arnie and Jodie loved to make life an adventure for their kids. They always made sure to go on family vacations to make the best memories - and continue to travel as a family into the kids' adulthood, now with their grandchildren added to the crew. Their daughter Freedom married Brad the same year Kristen graduated high school and they moved to a new house on Buntin Loop. 1999 was a busy year. Arnie loved Brad and he was happy to see Freedom had chosen a guy that would become such a wonderful father and husband for his daughter. Kristen went on to graduate from WSU in 2007. Heath and Ashley gave them their first grandchild in 2001, followed by 5 more grandchildren all born while they lived in that house. He loved all of his grandbabies so much: Firstest, Eli, Lou Lou, Kambo, Baby Brother, and Papa's girl. Arnie had to retire from car sales for health reasons and has been the chauffer for his grandchildren to school and events to his delight in the last several years. He loved getting a call "Papa, can you come and pick me up?" Usually it would include a stop for a Slurpee or something before taking them home. Arnie was always a hard worker: learned carpentry from his father and grandfather, became a Journeyman Carpenter and worked on various projects. Later he spent many years in automotive sales. He spent many of them at the top of the board. Arnie had a strong faith in God, he and Jodie raised their family this way. He lived for his family and for the glory of God. He loved going to movies and attending grandchildren's sporting events. If you didn't see him in the stands, he was somewhere with a view. Arnie is survived by his wife Jodie; children, Freedom (Brad Ostergaard), Kristen, and Heath; grandchildren: Paetynn, Elijah, Bricen, Kamdynn, Brient, and Faith. Sister Debi (Larry Fox), Brother Lonnie, sister-in laws Linda Newman and Debbie McElroy, their children and grandchildren, as well as numerous family members and friends that he loved so very much. He is preceded in death by his Parents, Mother in law, Sister in law, and Grandparents. He will be laid to rest at Desert Lawn Memorial Park near his mom and dad per his request. A Celebration of Life Service will be held later in the summer, nearer to Arnold's August birth date.