Obituary of John Hassenfeldt

NAUGATUCK- Mr. John Lewis Hassenfeldt, Sr., 96, of 479 City Hill St, Naugatuck, passed away Wednesday afternoon Oct. 7, 2009 at the Waterbury Hospital. He was husband of the late Lillian (Kraft) Hassenfeldt, who passed away in 2001 after 66 years of marriage. Mr. Hassenfeldt was born in Naugatuck, Oct. 1, 1913, a son of the late Louis and Catherine (Regan)(Garvin) Hassenfeldt and was a lifelong Naugatuck resident. He was educated in the local schools system and was employed at the John M. Russell Mfg. Co. and the Risdon Mfg. Co. of Waterbury as a Toolmaker until 1957. He then opened his own business, Hass Radio and TV Repair, which he operated for 30 years until his retirement in 1987. He was also involved in Sports in his early years; he played, coached, and managed Baseball and Basketball teams; the Rangers from the old Tiger Town League, The Woodmen, the Millville Athletic Club and finally the Bluebirds of the Pomperaug League. He also umpired Baseball in the Interstate League for several years, and coached in the Peter J. Foley Little League for 2 years. He also coached in the YMCA Little Pal Basketball League for over 20 years, had coached a number of teams for the Pond Hill Community Club, serving as President until it closed in 1975. He was inducted into the Naugatuck Hall of Fame in 1983. He was an avid Yankee Fan. He was a member of the United Methodist Church of Naugatuck and had served on a number of committee's at the church. He was also a member of the Woodmen of the World for over 65 years and had been a member of the Naugatuck Retired Men's Club. In later years, he was a Ham Radio Operator with the call letters "WB1ALB" and participated in a number of Nets through out New England. He leaves 3 sons, John L. Hassenfeldt, Jr., Howard R. Hassenfeldt, and Richard A. Hassenfeldt all of Naugatuck; 5 grandsons and 11 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Saturday Oct. 17th at 1 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of Naugatuck, 214 Church St. Burial will be private in Edgewood Cemetery, Wolcott. There are no calling hours. The Alderson Funeral Home of Naugatuck, 201 Meadow St. is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, 214 Church St., Naugatuck, 06770 or to the Naugatuck Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 572, Naugatuck, 06770-0572