Posted on: Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Hilo coach Charles Haasenritter Sr. dead at 49

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Charles Haasenritter Sr., who mentored hundreds of young baseball players and coached Hilo's Senior Little League World Series championship team last year, died April 27. He was 49.

Haasenritter was born in Honolulu and graduated from 'Aiea High School. He was an avid baseball player, winning special recognition for his batting, said his wife, Mary Lou Haasenritter.

"He was early on recognized as a very accomplished ballplayer, and he's loved it all his life and passed on these skills to the children," she said.

Haasenritter became a union carpenter and later went to work for the Hawai'i Housing Authority, where he met his wife. In 1986 Haasenritter became a building inspector with the state Department of Accounting and General Services, and the family moved to the Big Island in 1990.

Haasenritter coached from 1991 on, and was active in booster cubs and the Waiakea Uka Athletic Association.

He began to feel ill during the trip to California and Maine last year with the Senior Little League World Series team, and later learned he had cancer, his wife said.

"He was a wonderful husband and a great father," said Mary Lou Haasenritter. "He had a quick wit, was a lot of fun to be with, a positive attitude and a loving partner, and I'll miss him a lot."

In addition to his wife, Haasenritter is survived by sons, Charles Jr., Matthew and Kala; daughters, Melissa Ahuna, Haunani and Nanea; his mother, Emma; brothers, Robert and David; sisters, Ellen Parker and Lisa Lau; and two grandchildren.

He was buried Friday in Hilo.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.