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The last surviving member of Luverne’s “Last Man Club” died Saturday in the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne at the age of 102.
He was among an endearing group of World War II veterans who found comfort in each other’s coffee company in the grocery deli and in hearing each other’s familiar war stories.
They established their Last Man Club in 2010 to honor their fellow “Greatest Generation” veterans and to enjoy the freedoms they had fought to preserve. There were 24 original members.
Haakenson, known affectionately as “Haaky,” rarely missed a gathering of their “Glen’s Coffee Clique,” which attracted the attention of former First Lady Mary Pawlenty who visited them in Luverne to thank them for their service.
She invited them for coffee at the Governor’s Mansion in 2005 and returned on several occasions to Luverne to see “her guys” and to shake hands and offer hugs.
Haakenson enjoyed several First Lady hugs over the years.
He also joined his fellow Last Man Club members on the 2010 Southwest Minnesota Honor Flight to view the war memorials in Washington, D.C.
And he gathered with his local comrades for annual Veterans Day Banquets, which over time featured fewer Last Men and more empty place settings at the table for remembered veterans.
Per Article 10 of the club’s bylaws, “The Last Man will remove the official bottle from the cabinet and put it in front of his own place at the banquet table. At the conclusion of the meal the Last Man will unseal and open the bottle … and propose a toast to the members who preceded him in death, with a salute to them before taking the first drink from his glass.”
In 2017, Last Man Club organizer Warren Herreid found that he and Haakenson and LeRoy Luitjens were the remaining three Last Men in the club.
Herreid spoke of inviting Pawlenty to the banquet that year to open the bottle with them and toast their comrades.
She obliged, but Herreid died on Oct. 26, 2017, two weeks shy of the banquet.
Pawlenty said she was blessed to have known the World War II veterans from Luverne who drank coffee together in Glen’s Deli.
“I can’t describe how honored I am to be here tonight,” she said from the head table where Haakenson and Luitjens were seated with their empty glasses.
She helped Haakenson and Luitjens open the bottle and poured their drinks.
They first toasted the Last Man Club members who preceded them in death.
“We will never forget the hours spent together at our Glen’s Coffee Clique — cherishing the stories, knowledge and wisdom they shared with us over the years,” Luitjens said, reciting the words that Herreid had traditionally read. “We salute you comrades.”
The names of the 22 deceased members were read aloud, with the ringing of a bell after each name was read.
Those names included Ted Anderson, Lawrence Akkerman, Floyd Goembel, George Gabrielson, Harvey Ball, Darwin Rogness, Charles Mann, Lawrence Overgaard, Bill Veenhof, Ray Slieter, Johnny Johnson, Big Carrigan, Bob Juhl, Conrad Tofteland, Tim Tangeman, Ray Anderson, Jake Boomgaarden, Earl Glaser, Casey Van Engelenhoven, Russ Swenson, Bob Anderson and Warren Herreid.
And then, raising their glasses high in the air, the Last Men Standing toasted each other and quietly left the stage.
Luitjens died later that year at age 93, and Haakenson lived on to mark his 100th birthday in 2019.
Until age 98, he was an avid golfer, swam and exercised regularly.
At his 100th birthday party, he attributed his longevity to genetics and living “one day at a time.” His mother lived to age 105.
Haakenson’s full obituary appears on page 7A.
