November 17, 1944 — June 23, 2025

Tony Haga, 80, passed away peacefully of Acute Myeloid Leukemia at home in Northfield, Minn., on the afternoon of June 23, 2025. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Wednesday, July 9, at 1:00 p.m., at First English Lutheran Church in Cannon Falls, Minn., with a visitation held prior from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. He will be laid to rest among his heroes at Fort Snelling, at a private interment held at a later date. 

He was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on November 17, 1944, to parents Gordon and Jeanine (Stevens) Haga. He graduated from West High School (Minneapolis) and was a member of Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, where he met the love of his life, Anne Ohnesorge, and they married in 1971.

Always interested in the printing industry, Tony started a printing business from his parent’s basement as a teenager in addition to his paper route with the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. He attended the University of Minnesota before enlisting in the US Navy, serving proudly (1964-1970) as a helicopter mechanic, flight line, and flight crew for Naval Air. After his time in college and the Navy, Tony returned to the printing world, selling printing equipment for Olson Graphic Products in St. Paul, Minn., for 16 years. This led to a job offer in the early 1980’s to run the sales and marketing department at Fey Industries, a manufacturer in Edgerton, Minn. The new job opportunity in rural Minnesota also became a chance to follow a lifelong dream to own land and livestock. Soon after, Tony purchased a farm a few miles outside Edgerton and spent many years teaching himself how to plant and harvest crops and eventually build a sizable herd of Black Angus cattle.

After retiring from Fey Industries in 2004, Tony devoted his time to his various hobbies. An avid outdoorsman, Tony loved hunting, fishing, and competitive shooting, as well as the community of friends (and hunting dogs) that accompanied these hobbies. He enjoyed reading, becoming an armchair historian of military history who especially revered “the boys” who saved the world in WWII. He also greatly valued the history of the Northern Plains, and was extensively involved with the Center for Western Studies at Augustana University (Sioux Falls, SD), chairing and serving on their advisory board. He was deeply committed to environmental conservation, a longtime member of Pheasants Forever, and recently sold a portion of farmland into the Minnesota Native Prairie Bank for restoration in perpetuity. Tony loved music, especially classical, opera, organ, folk, and musicals. He was a longtime supporter of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, which provided hundreds of ready-made dates with Anne over the years. Ever the embodiment of “eat, drink, and be merry,” Tony was a connoisseur of fine wine, French cheese, and good meals with family, friends, and neighbors. His favorite meal of the year was his family’s annual fondue Christmas dinner. Meals like these always included his lively storytelling, memories shared with humor and vigor.

Tony was a lifelong churchgoer, a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church in Edgerton and more recent supporter of First English Lutheran Church in Cannon Falls. He found comfort in his faith, reading the Bible in its entirety in the last year of his life. Tony fought hard throughout his diagnosis and was especially proud to help others through an experimental drug trial at Mayo Clinic. He was a leader and devoted provider, as well as a gregarious and beloved friend and neighbor. If you were a friend of Tony’s, he considered you family. He will be missed by all who loved him.

Tony is survived by Anne, his wife of 54 years; son Paul Haga and his wife Cassie of Champlin; daughter Erica Peterson and her husband John of Cannon Falls; 3 granddaughters; and cherished bonus children Mathias Bruehning of Zurich, Switzerland, and Jelena (Kmezic) Leathard of Washington, DC; sister Holly (Bernie) Hillstrom of Woodville, Wisc.; brother John (Kathleen) Haga of Minnetonka; and several nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by parents Gordon and Jeanine Haga; brother Gordon “Steve” Haga; sister Juli (Haga) Mantor; great-nephew Anthony Rewald; three loyal hunting dogs; and several cats who joined him for naps.