Theodore Leo "Ted" Verhaagh

Theodore (Ted) Leo Ver Haagh Jr. of New Berlin, Wisconsin, died on October 16th, 2017 after a long illness. He was 82 years old.
He was born on his family’s farm in Antigo, Wisconsin. His childhood was spent on the farm where he learned the value of hard work. He attended grades K-8th in a one room school house and for years, he was the only person in his grade level. He walked to school, (over a mile each way), through every kind of weather and had perfect attendance – never missing a day!

After graduating from Antigo High School in 1953 he attempted to go to college but struggled due to his agricultural schooling. He then decided to go into the army. He served in the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division for two years as a paratrooper.

Ted married Winnie on August 20th, 1960. Ted was a devoted husband and their 57 year marriage was a solid foundation for their three children.
He later received a Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

He was an innovator and had a keen sense for change and a heart to help those in need. He was a pioneer for mental health in Marinette/Menominee area, starting the first non-profit mental health agency for those two counties. It was the first mental health agency that served people from two different states. He answered to 4 different boards, a difficult situation at best.

Some years later, the state of Michigan was going to cut funding for mental health in Menominee County. So Ted, solo, walked in protest from Marinette, Wisconsin to the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. The walk was over 200 miles, took him ten days, and in the end he won the continuation of funding and services! It was quite a feat.

In 1982 they moved to Traverse City, Michigan where Ted worked as the Director for Mental health for Lelanau County. They then moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Ted oversaw mental health for three major hospitals.

He was later hired as CEO of United Services in Willimantic, Connecticut offering comprehensive mental health services, including 24-hour crisis intervention, and housing for the homeless.

He retired in 2000 to Northern Wisconsin on the land of their beloved hunting cabin on the Peshtigo River, near Crivitz. He spent the first several years building their home, even jacking up one of the old cabins entirely by himself in order to move it to another location on the property. The cabin later became Winnie’s pottery studio. He also kept busy hunting, fishing, traveling and hosting many wonderful family reunions and get-togethers with friends.

Ted was known for his easygoing friendliness, lightheartedness, and great and often subtle sense of humor. Everyone he met would be graced with a warm smile and kind banter. Every fisherman on the river would no doubt be greeted with the old line “having any luck”?

He was a jack of all trades, frugal and creative, and was always thinking of ways to improve on anything that happened to be in front of him whether at work or at home. He would come home from his job in a business suit and immediately put on his “work clothes” – an old t-shirt and jeans – to get busy on a project around the house.

He also kept busy always thinking of others and preparing fun things to do – from giving tubing rides on their pontoon boat, to canoeing, kayaking, fishing, camping, golfing, or even building bobsled tracks in the backyard.

Ted is greatly missed by his wife, Winnie, sons, Dan and Mike, daughter Anne, brother Bernie, 7 grandchildren and many good friends.

There will be a celebration of Ted’s life on Saturday, November 11, 2017 from 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM at The Preserve at Deer Creek Golf Club, 4285 South Sunny Slope Road, New Berlin, Wisconsin. A short remembrance will be held at 5:00 PM with a dinner and reception following.

In lieu of flowers, those desiring can make a donation in Ted’s memory to Harmony Life International for their work in Uganda, Africa. This is a cause that was dear to Ted’s heart and was founded by his daughter and her husband. Checks can be mailed to: Harmony Life Intl., P.O. Box 453 Hygiene, CO 80533