Peter P. Haag, 89, of McHenry and formerly of Chicago, died Saturday in Holy Family Health Care Center in Des Plaines. As a toddler, Haag was part of a wave of ethnic Germans escaping Russia in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Born in Seelmann, Russia, he came to the United States in 1913. He lived much of his life in Chicago, working at Burny Brothers Bakery for more than 30 years as a maintenance man. He moved to McHenry about 20 years ago to the Whispering Oaks subdivision, which then had a large elderly population. Mr. Haag’s daughter, Jeanette Swanson, said her father was well-liked and admired for helping out the more frail residents with repairs or errands. “In his final days he was asked what he wanted to be remembered for and he said `I liked people,’ ” and he really was that kind of guy,” Swanson said. Mr. Haag was a devoted outdoorsman and a self-taught taxidermist. He lived in the Oakton Arms Retirement Community in Des Plaines for the last several years. Survivors include two other daughters, Suzanne Heinzel and Mary Ann; a brother, William; two sisters, Barbara Zorn and Claire Hofbauer; five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Visitation is from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday in the George R. Justen & Son Funeral Home, 3519 W. Elm St., McHenry. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, 1401 N. Richmond Rd., McHenry.
