Roll Call Tribute

Joseph Evans "Joe" Van Haselen 

January 11, 1935 - March 13, 2025 

Joseph (“Joe”) Evans Van Haselen passed away March 13, 2025, at the age of 90 at his home in Aurora, Colorado. Joe was born January 11, 1935, in El Paso, Texas. He was a proud graduate of Ysleta High School in El Paso and of Texas A&M University where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.

Upon graduating from Texas A&M in 1959, Joe served proudly in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He was initially stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and it was there that he met the love of his life and future wife of 64 years, Florence Smith while attending Woodlawn Baptist Church. Soon after their wedding, Joe was transferred to the US Army Base in Okinawa, Japan. As Joe would tell it, he wanted to make sure he had a ring on Florence's finger before he was shipped off to Japan.

Upon his discharge from the US Army, Joe secured a construction job in El Paso Texas, working for Borsberry Construction. Joe and Florence made the decision to move to El Paso and set off on a long adventurous road trip, through Canada, to El Paso, where Joe was born and raised and where his parents and family lived. A few years later, Joe went to work for his brother, William Van Haselen, Jr. at Karem Construction. He later had the opportunity to purchase the company and changed the name to Van Haselen Construction Company.

Van Haselen Construction was a long time, well respected, El Paso highway commercial construction company focused on large public and private earthwork, concrete and paving. At its peak, Van Haselen Construction company employed over 170 employees and had jobs all over El Paso and Southern New Mexico. The largest project completed in the late 1980's was a tank firing range for Fort Bliss, located in the Dona Ana Mountains of New Mexico, which contained 19 firing ranges supporting live-firing training maneuvers for various military units. Throughout his time in business and in the El Paso construction industry, Joe developed a reputation as a hardworking, honest man with unmatched integrity and character. He cared deeply for his employees and was described recently by a long-time former employee as being "generous to a fault"; but that was Joe, he would give them the shirt off his back to help someone in need.

Joe was always very active in church, beginning when he was 16 years old in Ysleta, and served as a Deacon at Grandview Baptist Church, then many years at Immanuel Baptist Church and later at First Baptist Church. As part of his service, he was the El Paso director for the Royal Ambassadors program for boys in the church; where he organized track meets, camping trips, and visits to the orphanage in Juarez, Mexico. Joe was very instrumental in building and maintaining Aspendale Baptist Encampment outside Cloudcroft, NM. Because of his dedication, there is a cabin named after him at Camp Aspendale. He was awarded “Layman of the Year” of the El Paso Baptist Association in 1976. In addition to all of this, Joe never missed the opportunity to attend one his children’s sporting, music, theatre or dance performances.

After retirement, Joe and Florence moved to Aurora, Colorado, where they were able to spend 14 wonderful years closer to three of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The family considered it to be such a blessing to have this time with Joe and Flo. Joe's fun loving nature and sense of humor made all family gatherings that much more memorable and special. Soon after retirement, Joe began his wood working hobby, where he made amazing rocking horses, chairs, toy boxes, picnic tables, coffee and end tables, benches and shelves, which he gave to his children and grandchildren.

As anyone who knows Joe would attest, he had a deep affection and loyalty to Texas A&M University. He actively followed and watched every Aggie sport. Before each sports season, he was known to hand write out the roster for that team, including stats, along with his expert opinion on the players. Many times, when multiple games of different sports were on, he would go back and forth between the TV and computer, where he would be monitoring another game. For Joe's 89th birthday, he was presented by his children with a brick with his name on it, which is installed at the newly constructed engineering building at Texas A&M.

Joe loved reading history, watching old western movies, telling stories about Pancho Villa and El Paso history to his children and grandchildren, eating Mexican food and spending as much time as possible with his loving wife, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Joe is survived by his wife of 64 years, Florence Van Haselen, their four children; Bonnie Stanfield (Will), Shari Van Haselen, Joe Van Haselen, Jr. (Corina), and Amy McAnally (Bill), their seven grandchildren; Tommy Stanfield (Megan), Travis Stanfield (Rachel), Trent Stanfield (Clifton), Jakob Grau, Liam McAnally, Zachary Van Haselen, and Averi Van Haselen, two great grandchildren; Audrey Stanfield and TJ Stanfield, and numerous nieces & nephews.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, William and Mary Van Haselen, and by his brother, William Van Haselen, Jr. and sister, Carolyn Wilson.

Joe will be deeply missed as the patriarch and leader of our family; he was our hero and will forever be in our hearts.