Do You Know Someone Who is “Red”?

Do You Know Someone Who is “Red”?

No, not the color, but a man who soon earned the nickname Red because of his coloration, his Irish heritage, and childhood friends who sometimes called him “Patty,” (which he hated). So he went with “Red.”

Last year when my husband and I wanted to celebrate Stuart’s brother’s 75^th birthday, we wanted to try and surprise Nolan. Red was a longtime and treasured friend of Nolan’s. Red jumped on board as soon as he heard about the party, and helped us with the details in various ways, and it was so much appreciated.

Planning and pulling off a surprise party for an older brother with 45 or so attendees was no easy task for my husband and me—we’re no spring chickens. Red helped bringing food, setting things out, and honored Nolan with fun stories and words, which everyone present enjoyed.

That was Red. Unfortunately, he died recently, after a stroke several years ago and being on dialysis three days a week. But his great attitude and fun ways can be a model for the rest of us. During covid years, my husband got to know him much better at an exercise pool which we chose to go to when our other pool closed down. I didn’t know him well, but knew he was always giving, laughing, joking and very helpful and kind.

His only daughter, Erin, gave one of the most uplifting, funny and sweet eulogies I think I’ve ever heard, helping us laugh, cry, and remember. She started by warning us her speech was about 1000 pages long, which of course was an exaggeration.

One of the things I remember was how she said her Dad had developed the custom after every large meal (like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on) to end the meal with blowing out a big long breath which was to help you settle all that food in your tummy. Who does that after a family meal? Red. Perhaps you’ll want to join in and try it like most of us listening to the eulogy did. A Red moment for sure.

She recalled how her dad would “sometimes call, tell a joke, and then just hang up.” He would also call and tell his daughter or granddaughters to look out and see the spectacular sunrise, or sunset.

But here is the most interesting story I found on the tributes left on Johnson’s obituary pages. This gladdened my heart, because we never knew what the situation was in Red’s family.

“Even though I am Red’s ex-wife, he became my best friend and supporter. He never held a grudge and invited me to join him along with our daughter and grandchildren to the beach, as well as other activities. Since then, we have shared many memories and supported each other in doctor appointments and just life. He will be greatly missed as a missing part of our family. He touched so many and will always be special in my heart.” – Cathy

This did my heart good too, because we never knew what the situation was in Red’s family.

And maybe this can speak to the rest of us: of the need to be kind, loving, and helpful.

In Loving Memory

Patrick “Red” Dennis Haile

August 17, 1954 – February 13, 2026

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Parts of Red’s obituary:

Red was born in Shamokin, PA, August 17, 1954, and attended Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School, class of 1972, before continuing his education at Bloomsburg State College, where he earned a B.S. Degree in Business Administration and Accounting.

Red moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 1977 and worked for Kawneer and Banta before transitioning to Rockingham Cooperative, where he worked for 30+ years, retiring as Controller in the spring of 2020. He served as a member of the Turner Ashby High School Booster Club from 1997-2006, spending eight of those years as a board member. For his many years of service, he was inducted into the TAHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, joining his daughter, who was inducted in 2012 for her many track and gymnastics accomplishments. To date, Red and Erin are the only father-daughter duo to be inducted into the TAHS Athletic Hall of Fame. While supporting his daughter from the track, Red began officiating local Valley District Track and Field meets, and continued to do so until he hung up his stopwatch after 27 years of service.

He held a particularly special place in his heart for the Unified Basketball and Challenger Baseball programs across the county. He believed deeply in the power of athletics to bring people together and celebrated those athletes with unmatched enthusiasm and pride. He showed spirit, loyalty and love to each athlete and he made lasting impacts that will continue to echo throughout the hallways of TAHS and around the community.

Red truly lived for his family. He took pride in every moment spent with his two beautiful granddaughters, Reagan and Avery, who affectionately called him “Big Daddy”. They were the light of his life. He cherished his many fishing trips with his brothers, looked forward to his annual beach trips with the family, and he loved listening to bluegrass and spending time in the mountains. Red truly never knew a stranger and was a light to all that knew him. 

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I welcome your own comments, memories, people or situations you have learned from