STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Fred “Bob” Haspel, a lifelong Staten Islander whose dedication to family, community, and sports made him a beloved figure among all who knew him, died on Sept. 25, surrounded by his wife of 71 years, Claire, at their home in Grant City. He was 91.
Born on March 24, 1934, on Governors Island to Ferdinand Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Haspel, Fred spent nearly his entire life on Staten Island alongside his sisters, Katherine and Janice. His father, a sergeant stationed at Fort Wadsworth, moved the family frequently, but Staten Island always remained home.
Fred spent his formative years in the Rosebank and New Dorp Beach neighborhoods. From a young age, he developed a passion for athletics, the outdoors, and the water, where he and neighborhood friends built forts, raced rowboats, and held friendly competitions.
“When he moved to New Dorp Beach, at about 14, he fell in love with being right near the water,” said Fred’s son, Bob Haspel. “He had his own rowboat and built forts. He spent so many hours down there. He always talked about this one race that he won, where you had to swim to the end of the pier and back.”
Career and family life
Alongside athletics, Fred discovered his love for music during his teenage years. At just 15, he joined the Police Athletic League band, playing drums at community parades, beach openings, and even the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was during one of these parades in 1949 that his sister introduced him to his future wife, a young color guard member named Claire Faichney.
In 1951, the two officially began dating after Claire became the squad leader of the Police Athletic League color guard. On the night of her high school graduation in 1952, Fred proposed. The couple married on May 29, 1954, at St. Christopher’s R.C. Church in Grant City, where they would remain lifelong parishioners.
Fred is pictured here with his wife, Claire. (Courtesy of Bob Haspel)
The newlyweds settled in Claire’s childhood home in Grant City, where they would live for more than seven decades and raise their six children — two sets of twins among them —Dorothy, Patricia, Ellen, Kathleen, Robert “Bob,” and Heidi.
“In their young 20s, they had two sets of twins, which was not easy,” said Haspel, a twin himself. “They lived in my mother’s house, which was over 100 years old and one of the first houses built in Grant City. I think my dad fell in love with that house, because he, being a military kid, bounced around a lot.”
Before starting a family, Fred attended McKee Technical High School in 1952, where he was a four-year honor student and ranked among the top in his class; his name remains displayed on the school’s Honor Roll plaque in the lobby of the St. George campus.
After graduating, Fred began working for AT&T, initially joining the company’s stocks and bonds department. He was then reassigned to the former Nassau Smelting and Refining Company in Richmond Valley — a subsidiary that later became AT&T Nassau Metals and eventually Lucent Technologies.
During his 37 years with the company, Fred was active in the Mine, Mill, and Smelter’s Union, where he fought for expanded holidays, equal employment opportunity rights, and ensured that company bylaws were published and distributed to all employees. He was also a benefit administrator in the benefit department, where he was responsible for workers’ compensation cases. He held the last position for 22 years before his retirement in 1988.
Before and during his career, Fred worked various jobs, including delivering papers to officers stationed at Miller Field, junior lifeguard, and ushering at the St. George Theatre. While working for AT&T, he took classes at Colgate University and Staten Island Community College (now the College of Staten Island in Willobrook). However, with the arrival of his firstborn, then with the birth of twins, Fred prioritized family over completing a degree.
Fred and his son, Bob Haspel, at a New York Mets game. (Courtesy of Bob Haspel)Community involvement
Throughout his life, Fred was deeply involved in the Staten Island community. A devoted parishioner of St. Christopher’s Church, he served for decades on the Holy Name Society and the St. Christopher School Sports Committee. He coached many of the parish’s basketball, softball, and baseball teams, as well as local Little League teams. Fred encouraged all his children to play sports, and rarely missed a practice or game.
“He read the Staten Island Advance every day and saved clippings from sporting events that his kids were participating in,” said Haspel. “He attended every game and loved playing sports himself.”
Reading the Advance/SILive.com every day was a cherished ritual for Fred. It reflected his deep connection to Staten Island and the people who shaped it. He looked forward to sitting on the porch with his morning coffee and reading the paper cover to cover, often mailing articles to family members he thought would appreciate them.
“Reading the Staten Island Advance every day meant a lot to him,” said Haspel. “That even toward his last few years and especially last year, he’d say ‘All I want to do is sit on the porch and read the Advance’ … He would cut articles out of the Advance and mail them to me. I have stuff in my basement that he would send to me.”
Fred’s loyalty to Staten Island ran deep.
“It bothered him that I moved to Jersey. I know that,” said Haspel. “So I always called him ‘Mr. Staten Island.’ He would always say things like ‘You think that football team could beat Curtis?’ He would always compare everything to Staten Island.”
Even after retirement, Fred remained committed to physical activity and competition. For three decades, he was a long-standing member at the Broadway YMCA, where he participated in the Senior Olympics, reflecting his lifelong love of sports and competition.
“He was very involved with the Y and had 69 medals in the Senior Olympics,” said Haspel.
But more than any other sport, Fred’s true passion was swimming.
“He loved swimming so much that I think the most important thing to him, other than his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was finding time to swim,” Haspel recalled.
Fred was a devoted New York Mets fan.(Courtesy of Bob Haspel)
Swimming remained at the center of Fred’s life well into his later years. He was often found in his home pool or at the beach. Around the age of 85, Fred could no longer use the above-ground pool at his home as the stairs became too challenging to navigate. Even so, the water and the outdoors were always a source of joy for him.
“He loved the sun,” said Haspel. “His big thing was the late-day sun, he would call it. He’d love to sit out, later in the day, and sit during a sunset — whether it was at the beach or somewhere near the water.”
Fred’s other passion was the New York Mets. His Grant City home became a shrine to the team, filled with cherished memorabilia and mementos he collected over the decades.
“The biggest thing I could say about him is he was an unbelievable New York Mets fan,” his son said. “One of his grandkids gave him a brick at Citi Field in his name.”
Fred is survived by his devoted wife, Claire; his six children —Dorothy, Patricia, Ellen, Kathleen, Robert, and Heidi; 14 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and one great-grandchild on the way.
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