Lu Anne Haack

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Cylinder Firehouse at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family and directed to 110 Iowa Street Cylinder, Iowa 50528.

Luella Anne Haack, (called Lu, Luie, or LuAnne) passed away on Friday, March 27th, 2026, at 9:24 a.m. at Mercy One Hospital in Mason City, Iowa. She peacefully took her last breath listening to Jimmy Buffett music with her husband and three children by her side. Lu had a golden heart so we weren’t surprised when we found out she was a registered organ donor with the Iowa Organ Network. Good news so far, her liver has been donated to a male in his 50’s, her right kidney to a male in his 70’s (a friend’s neighbor in Arizona) and the left kidney to a female in her 70’s and all transplants have been successful. Additionally, we were told that she could help as many as 150 people by donating her skin tissue. Please consider being an organ donor!

Luella Anne was born to Marie and Cecil Carpenter on August 30, 1958, in Newton, Iowa and grew up in Ira, a rural town in central Iowa . Her big brother Tom and sister Linda had begged their parents for a baby and were so excited when LuAnne came home; they were happy to help raise her – even volunteering for diaper duty. When Luie was around 8, another older sister Aricia, joined our family and was also a fierce protector and friend. Fortunately, most of LuAnne’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins lived within a twenty-mile radius so there were A LOT of family gatherings that were full of fun, laughter, love, and delicious food. Most fortunate of all, our Grandma and Grandpa Koon and our Aunt Viola lived right down the street from our house in Ira.

Being closer in age, LuAnne and Aricia shared many fond childhood memories together. One memory that they liked to revisit was their ritual of cooking their weekly one pound bag of skinny frozen fries after school in their wizbang harvest gold deepfat fryer. They nearly always fought over the last french fry and were often too full to eat much of their supper. Another precious memory included one of their nearly four hour trips with their grandparents to visit their grandmothers’ sisters in Marceline, Missouri. One time they walked uptown to the hatchery and purchased the weekly special, 10 cents worth of chicken feed that included a dozen super cute baby chicks. And on the way back, amongst all the peeping, they stopped and picked up a turtle crossing the road. Their grandfather was greatly relieved when he finally arrived home to a peep and kid chatter free environment. Our grandparents were great role models and our grandmother, in her unspoken way, had convinced each of us that we were her favorite-now that's grandmother magic at its best. It is comforting to know that among other family members, LuAnne has been reunited with our parents, grandparents and Aunt Viola, who had cerebral palsy and lived with our grandparents until they were no longer able to physically care for her.

As previously mentioned, LuAnne had a golden heart and so much so that one time when Linda came home for a visit from college, she was mortified to find out that Luie had given away most of her toys including her prized dollhouse and dolls. But when Linda found out she had given them to a poor family that had moved into Ira while she was away at college the smoke settled and she came to terms with the loss of her treasured toys. This is an early example of LuAnne spreading hope and joy, as many can attest that this was a hallmark of her personality throughout her life.

Another fun sibling story involves Tom’s very first purchase of a baby goat when LuAnne was four years old. The goat and LuAnne loved to play and the goat would run directly at her and rear up on his hind legs but stop right before he got to her! It made Luie laugh so hard and it would make our mom cringe as she thought the goat might hurt her, but that never happened. Even at a very young age, LuAnne was fearless and found fun times and laughter in things around her, this trait also carried its way into her adulthood and made her a fun person to be around.

Other than her siblings, some of LuAnne’s other special family bonds include that with Cousin Cathy who would come from California during the summers and lived in Ira with our family. The two of them had many fun adventures together including getting bucked off our pony Blossom. Also, while Lu was still growing up, Tom’s girls were born, sweet Carolyn and Gretchen. Their parents divorced early and the girls often came and spent time at our family home during the summers and Christmas. They would attend her softball games and teased her about her boyfriends, referring to them as uncles. LuAnne most certainly had a family-rich childhood steeped in love. These experiences helped her to grow her large golden heart and become a person of inclusion and non-judgment. It also enabled her to love her friends like family.

She attended school in Mingo, Iowa, graduating in 1976. During her 13 years there, she made many lifelong friends who she deeply loved, some of which include Andi Fales Bucklin, Pat Comer Myers, Annette Fales Smith, and Kristy Link Weston. Sadly Kristy passed away a few years ago, happily they have reunited. Andi, Pat, Annette and other friends have remained in close contact and made time to see each other over the years. Luie often commented about how lucky she was that Andi started school during their middle school years. Since adulthood, she and her friends have whooped it up at outdoor concerts and spent nights at the casino and weekends at Andi’s cabin. Always recalling fond memories especially during their adolescent years when they were full of life and tossed caution to the wind resulting in super fun memories worth recalling for a lifetime. LuAnne treasured her childhood friends and when they parted ways, she would leave them with a hug, kiss on the cheek and a “LoveYa”.

During her middle school and high school years, not only was she super social, but she was very active in sports and was especially skilled at playing softball. She held the position of pitcher and was a lefty at that. Our dad, who called her Pumpkin and Luie, had her practice pitching every day after school for an hour before she could “go play”! Sometimes she was not happy to miss fun times with her friends, but her practice sure paid off. One time she was clocked pitching at 90 mph, so you can imagine why she made a number of girls shake in their softball cleats when she stepped onto the pitcher’s mound! She could have had a college softball scholarship but instead skipped college at that time and married her high school sweetheart Rick Shaffer. They had three wonderful children whom they love very much, Melissa, Aaron, and Shaun. When they divorced, they tried very hard not to disrupt their lives, so the kids lived with both parents and went back and forth between their homes in Newton. While living in Newton, Luanne was also a mother figure to her precious niece and nephew, Jason and Julie Brown. Her love for them was without measure.

In Newton, she was employed at Progress Industry where she worked with adults with disabilities and helped them to enjoy a productive life. She later was promoted to management in the human resource area. During her decades of working there, she made many friends with whom she also shared many adventures. She felt close to and loved all of them throughout the rest of her life. We can’t begin to name everyone, but some include Deb Witte, Ileen Berryhill, Pat Van Baale, and Kelly Decker. She was especially close with Deb Witte and her husband Dennis, so much so that they joined some of our family celebrations. Deb and LuAnne were pillars of support for one another and shared many heart warming moments and hilarious escapades.

In December 1991, she married her soulmate Glenn Sterling-they were perfect for each other. Glenn brought Angie and Eric into their family, blessing them with five teenagers in one house! Chaotic but full of love. It was heartbreaking when Glenn died very abruptly and quickly in 2002.

In September 2005, Lu married Dave Haack in Emmetsburg, Iowa. Not many people get to find two soulmates in their lives, but these two were a perfect match and deeply loved and enjoyed each other for over 20 years of marriage! They combined their huge family consisting of five grown children each plus grandchildren and across time their family grew as more beautiful grandchildren, and great grandchildren entered their lives. Shortly after they married, they moved to Cylinder and eventually purchased and ran the Haack’s Nest Bar and Grill which became THE gathering place for everyone in and around their community. Many grand times were had with good friends and great food (especially her hot beef sandwiches)! When she wasn’t cooking she was bartending and often listened to people’s stories and was a consummate confidant. When someone had a little too much to drink, she would rally the support of another patron and drive them and their vehicle home and make sure they got in their house safely. There was something comical about seeing her hoist herself into a heavy duty truck. She was only 5’2” and therefore was barely visible behind the steering wheel. In 2024, Lu and Dave sold their business and being one of the best cooks ever, they often had delicious left overs as she had a hard time learning to cook for only two.

Dave and Lu loved to take long drives on the spur of the moment and always took the back roads! They both hated driving on busy highways and through big cities and loved finding out-of-the-way places with unique attractions! As Dave says, “you can’t see anything driving at 75 miles an hour.” One time they were driving and missed a turn and ended up on a well traveled highway. They bickered for a while about whose fault it was and had moved into the silent treatment stage of their argument when Dave’s eye lit up. There before them was a huge candy store. Being a lover of sweets, this ended up being a fortuitous missed turn for Dave, he got to spend some time in a candy heaven. This mishap ended up sweetening the rest of their day trip and created a precious memory for both.

They also loved to take local vacations with their close friends Tanya Schmeling, Frank Weisbrod, Wally, and Perry Radig. For example, one time they rented a houseboat and explored the Mississippi river. On a few occasions, they rented a cabin where they explored the local sites and sat around the firepit, tipping a few beers (rootbeers for Dave) and filling the night air with laughter. One weekend, Lu and her girlfriends spent their time together in her and Dave’s camper because it rained all day but that didn’t put a damper on their fun time. Laid back fun times followed LuAnne wherever she went.

There are many friends who LuAnne loved like family so we know Lu would want each of you mentioned in her obituary as a special person in her life. If we have failed to mention your name please forgive our oversight and know that she truly did love you.

Those left to honor the legacy of Lu include her devoted husband Dave of Cylinder, her children Melissa Holdefer of Des Moines, Aaron (Sarah) Shaffer of Des Moines, and Shaun Shaffer of Newton; her bonus kids Angie (Tommy) Oswalt and Eric (Melissa) Sterling of Newton. Her precious grandchildren Katelyn (Jess), Lincoln, Willow, Harry, Tyler, Wyatt and Brooklyn plus a great grandson Jaxson. Adult bonus kids Crystal (Chris) Eggers of West Bend, Iowa, Tonia (Chad) Hoch of Mallard, Iowa, Jason Haack and Nate (Amanda) Haack of Emmetsburg, Iowa and additional precious grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Also left to honor LuAnne are her beloved siblings Tom (Josh) Carpenter of Des Moines, Linda Brown of East Moline, Illinois and Aricia (Ben) Beckman of Denver, Iowa. Her nieces and nephews Carolyn, Gretchen (Geoff), Jason (Beth), Julie (Mohammed), Kelly (Jeff), Wendy (Patrick), Melanie and Derek; 17 great nieces/nephews and three great great nieces/nephews. We all loved LuAnne so much and are thankful for all the wonderful moments we shared in person and on the phone! As we grew up and went our own ways, we sadly no longer lived near each other, but got together as often as possible. Our bond will not be broken, and we are blessed to know that LuAnne is now in Heaven with all our loved ones having a HUGE party!

 Geelan Funeral Home is assisting with the celebration of life.