Merle Haden

BEDFORD -- Merle Haden, 90, passed away Monday, April 25, 2011, at a local care facility.        Funeral Mass: 10 a.m. Friday at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, 7341 Glenview Drive, North Richland Hills. The Rev. Father Karl Schilken will officiate. Interment: 11:15 a.m. Monday in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Visitation: The family will receive friends 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Lucas Funeral Home in Hurst, with recitation of the holy rosary at 7:45 p.m.        Merle's grandsons will serve as bearers of her casket.        Merle will celebrate her 91st birthday in heaven on April 29, with her husband, John, who passed away Oct. 12, 2010.        Merle Lorino was born in Houston in 1920. She attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she met the love of her life, John Haden. They were married Dec. 6, 1942. She and John shared 68 wonderful years of marriage. They had three children, Jack, Tom and Mary Ann. Merle and John reared their children in a home filled with love and laughter. God blessed their family immensely and He was at the center of their lives. Merle and John were members of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church. Early on, she and John worked many tireless hours at the Fort Worth Convention Center concession stands to raise money to help retire the church's construction fund debt. Merle attended daily Mass faithfully for as many years as her health would permit.        Merle worked as a real estate sales agent for more than 20 years in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford area. She enjoyed her work tremendously, and it showed. She earned numerous awards, recognitions and sales spiff trips. She and John were always ready to depart for a new destination.        Merle also had a passion for duplicate bridge. She played bridge two to three times a week during her retirement years. She had many friends and partners at various bridge parties she attended. When her health began to fail, her friends told her they were always holding a place for her at the tables.        Merle was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, friend and mentor. She has positively influenced the lives of those who knew her. She will be missed.        Merle spent the past year at Parkwood Health Care Community Center in Bedford -- the first six months as a daily visitor providing comfort to her husband, the past six months as a resident. Merle's family extends our heartfelt gratitude to the administration and staff of Parkwood for their extraordinary care, genuine concern and constant outpouring of love.        Merle was preceded in death by her husband, John, and a son, Jack.        Survivors: Her son, Tom Haden and wife, Beth; daughter, Mary Ann Steffek and husband, John; daughter-in-law, Linda Haden; grandchildren, John Haden and wife, Julie, Joseph Haden and wife, Gloria, Haden Steffek and wife, Courtney, Logan Steffek, Tony Haden and wife, Kristin, and Jane Haden; great-grandchildren, Kelsey Haden, Nathalie Haden, Austin Steffek, Jacqueline Steffek, Grant Haden, Bret Haden, Megan Haden and Madison Haden; brother, Bernard Lorino; sister-in-law, Jean Haden; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family members. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Merle Haden please visit our Sympathy Store.