Maas Brothers Memorial Fund for Our Father, Harry
Donation protected
Our beloved father, Harry D. Maas, unexpectedly passed away on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2020. The previous Thursday he had undergone a heart procedure to replace his aortic valve and was discharged from the hospital the next day. All three of us were fortunate enough to have the chance to see him when discharged on Friday and express how much we loved him, as well as to talk and text with him throughout the weekend—something we are forever thankful to have had the opportunity to do so. Due to various complications in these days following the procedure, he passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday morning. Our father’s passing was a complete shock to all three of us brothers and still feels rather surreal even more than a month later as we post this.
All of the kind words, thoughtful remembrances, and outright love we have received from you all over this last month has been a tremendous lift to our family and has made all the difference as we navigate one of the most trying times of our lives. We are truly grateful for all your continued outreach and unwavering support.
As many of you may also know, our mother passed away a year and a half earlier in November of 2018. With all your monumental support then, too, the Maas Family proved to be a resilient bunch. With our father, as always, at the helm, we came together as a family and emerged from such a tragic ordeal stronger and closer than ever before. Our mother's passing provided us an entirely new lens from which to view what family really means. It further provided us an opportunity to see and appreciate the more vulnerable side of our father, a side he rarely allowed even those closest to him to witness. We didn't just lose our mother on November 12, 2018; our father lost his wife of 37 years—his college sweetheart, his best friend, and (literal) cheerleader.
As resilient as we may be, there is no denying the financial hurdles that lay ahead of us three brothers now. The inopportune timing of our father’s retirement (just after the beginning of the Great Recession of ’07-’09), compounded considerably by some disastrously unfortunate investment advice by his Financial Advisor at the time, ultimately depleted a great deal of his retirement savings. Additionally, he has been in the midst of a multi-year legal battle with the State of New York regarding a substantial tax dispute that will very likely result in wiping out what remains of his savings. Given that he did not have any life insurance or typical death benefits in place, we face an array of financial obstacles ahead of us.
It would mean the world to us if you could make a memorial donation in our father’s name to help ease the financial burden of losing both our mother and our father within 18 months of each other. Any financial contribution would be appreciated beyond words. We would of course be happy to answer any questions regarding our particular financial situation or our specific need for financial support. Please feel free to reach out to Kevin (Harry’s youngest son) with any and all questions you may have.
As those who love our dad would have expected, despite all the pain and heartache he had to endure after our mother’s passing, he never for a second veered from being the absolute rock that he had always been for our family throughout our lives. He was the one constant in our lives, the person we knew we could look to at any moment for the answer or help we needed, no matter the situation. He was, and will always be, our guiding light. Our cousin Nancy recently shared with us a text message our dad had sent her in April that perfectly exemplifies his dedication as a father and illustrates just how much he cared about family:
“[Kids are] resilient and precious. I know it probably shouldn’t but my life revolves around the three boys. Yes there are other things I do and which matter to me, but in the end it’s family that matters.”
In return, our dad was our everything. He, of course, had his passions, most notably baseball and birding—Civil War history and old-fashioned trains too—and he worked tirelessly as a corporate law partner for Hunton & Williams (since renamed Hunton Andrews Kurth) until retiring over a decade ago. But above all, no matter how busy he was or how long of a laundry list of personal stresses were on his mind, everyone who truly knows him knows: he always put his friends and family before himself. We have been hearing recently from others so many stories of instances where our dad impacted and helped people at critical times in their lives. And we are only learning of these stories now because our dad was not the type to tout his good deeds or achievements (of which there are many). The father we knew didn’t have an ego. Whether in his professional life as a lawyer or his personal life as a father, husband, or friend, he always did what he thought was right, helping so many people in the process. Whether it was for friends, family, coworkers, or his NYC Audubon second family, he always had the time to thoughtfully and considerately help anyone he knew or encountered in his life.
We invite you as well to offer any remembrances of Harry either on his Facebook Memorial Page or through his page at Legacy.com that includes a notice of his passing made possible by his friends at NYC Audubon. Or if you would prefer to message us directly with your remembrances, our family would love to hear them.
The slideshow below was put together by all three of us brothers and offers highlights from his life starting from his earliest days growing up on his family’s farm in Wellsburg as well as photos he took of his beloved birds. It is an impossible task to truly capture what an incredible life he led, and there are of course some glaring omissions (like photos from his University of Iowa baseball days, for example). Which is to say, we would love to see any and all photos you may have of him that do not appear in this slideshow.
Whether you choose to donate or not, we are forever grateful for all the support we have received during this difficult time. You have all enriched our lives in ways words wouldn’t do justice.
All of the kind words, thoughtful remembrances, and outright love we have received from you all over this last month has been a tremendous lift to our family and has made all the difference as we navigate one of the most trying times of our lives. We are truly grateful for all your continued outreach and unwavering support.
As many of you may also know, our mother passed away a year and a half earlier in November of 2018. With all your monumental support then, too, the Maas Family proved to be a resilient bunch. With our father, as always, at the helm, we came together as a family and emerged from such a tragic ordeal stronger and closer than ever before. Our mother's passing provided us an entirely new lens from which to view what family really means. It further provided us an opportunity to see and appreciate the more vulnerable side of our father, a side he rarely allowed even those closest to him to witness. We didn't just lose our mother on November 12, 2018; our father lost his wife of 37 years—his college sweetheart, his best friend, and (literal) cheerleader.
As resilient as we may be, there is no denying the financial hurdles that lay ahead of us three brothers now. The inopportune timing of our father’s retirement (just after the beginning of the Great Recession of ’07-’09), compounded considerably by some disastrously unfortunate investment advice by his Financial Advisor at the time, ultimately depleted a great deal of his retirement savings. Additionally, he has been in the midst of a multi-year legal battle with the State of New York regarding a substantial tax dispute that will very likely result in wiping out what remains of his savings. Given that he did not have any life insurance or typical death benefits in place, we face an array of financial obstacles ahead of us.
It would mean the world to us if you could make a memorial donation in our father’s name to help ease the financial burden of losing both our mother and our father within 18 months of each other. Any financial contribution would be appreciated beyond words. We would of course be happy to answer any questions regarding our particular financial situation or our specific need for financial support. Please feel free to reach out to Kevin (Harry’s youngest son) with any and all questions you may have.
As those who love our dad would have expected, despite all the pain and heartache he had to endure after our mother’s passing, he never for a second veered from being the absolute rock that he had always been for our family throughout our lives. He was the one constant in our lives, the person we knew we could look to at any moment for the answer or help we needed, no matter the situation. He was, and will always be, our guiding light. Our cousin Nancy recently shared with us a text message our dad had sent her in April that perfectly exemplifies his dedication as a father and illustrates just how much he cared about family:
“[Kids are] resilient and precious. I know it probably shouldn’t but my life revolves around the three boys. Yes there are other things I do and which matter to me, but in the end it’s family that matters.”
In return, our dad was our everything. He, of course, had his passions, most notably baseball and birding—Civil War history and old-fashioned trains too—and he worked tirelessly as a corporate law partner for Hunton & Williams (since renamed Hunton Andrews Kurth) until retiring over a decade ago. But above all, no matter how busy he was or how long of a laundry list of personal stresses were on his mind, everyone who truly knows him knows: he always put his friends and family before himself. We have been hearing recently from others so many stories of instances where our dad impacted and helped people at critical times in their lives. And we are only learning of these stories now because our dad was not the type to tout his good deeds or achievements (of which there are many). The father we knew didn’t have an ego. Whether in his professional life as a lawyer or his personal life as a father, husband, or friend, he always did what he thought was right, helping so many people in the process. Whether it was for friends, family, coworkers, or his NYC Audubon second family, he always had the time to thoughtfully and considerately help anyone he knew or encountered in his life.
We invite you as well to offer any remembrances of Harry either on his Facebook Memorial Page or through his page at Legacy.com that includes a notice of his passing made possible by his friends at NYC Audubon. Or if you would prefer to message us directly with your remembrances, our family would love to hear them.
The slideshow below was put together by all three of us brothers and offers highlights from his life starting from his earliest days growing up on his family’s farm in Wellsburg as well as photos he took of his beloved birds. It is an impossible task to truly capture what an incredible life he led, and there are of course some glaring omissions (like photos from his University of Iowa baseball days, for example). Which is to say, we would love to see any and all photos you may have of him that do not appear in this slideshow.
Whether you choose to donate or not, we are forever grateful for all the support we have received during this difficult time. You have all enriched our lives in ways words wouldn’t do justice.
Organizer
Kevin Maas
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY