Obituaries
Theodore L. Hasbrouck, Jr.
By Wise Funeral Home
Jun 22, 2007

BONHAM -- Theodore Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., beloved father and husband, age 82, died Monday, June 18, 2007, at Clyde W. Cosper, Texas State Veteran’s Home after a long illness. He was a Veteran of WWII, an accomplished artist, a patriot, and a person whose cheerful and positive attitude gave joy to all who knew him.  

The son of Theodore L. Hasbrouck, Sr. and Lenna Marie Norton, was born December 2, 1924, in Centralia, Illinois, and grew up in Illinois and White Bear Lake, Minnesota.  He moved to Dallas, Texas, in the 1940’s where he met and married his first wife, Beverly Ann Murphy of South Bend, Indiana, and raised his family in Richardson, Texas. After she died in November, 1979, he married Mary Claudene Norris of Oklahoma in 1984, and lived in Mesquite, Texas, until her passing in July, 2004.

As a child, Ted was a gifted artist and attended the Chicago Art Institute. After WWII, he worked for Disney Studios in Anaheim, California, doing illustration. His creative talents blossomed into a 50-year career in PR and advertising working with such clients as Texas Instruments, El Chico, Texaco, Borden, Sheraton, and Southwest Airmotive. For over 25 years, he was President of his own advertising firm BWA Advertising, Dallas, handling the H&R Block account. His talents were evident in many commercials and slogans such as El Chico’s “Mamma’s Boys,” “Top 100 reasons to use H&R Block,” and the design of the large daisy for Borden’s “Elsie the Cow.” His work was recognized with the Cleo Award and the Dallas Press Club’s Katy Award. His paintings of war-era aircraft hang in the U.S. Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He was an active member of the Dallas Press Club, the Dallas Ad League, and the Evans Senior Center in Mesquite.

In 2006, Ted painted “The Crucifixion at Golgatha” and, in 2007, presented a copy to Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, Italy, later receiving the Pope’s blessing and encouragement for his work giving art and joy to veterans. With the help of his daughter, Patty, he developed the website www.texastedart.com to sell artwork and use the money to pay expenses for himself and other veterans.  

During World War II, Ted served his country as a Merchant Marine (1941-1945), serving under the Department of the Navy and the U. S. Coast Guard.  He briefly attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, but was shipped for further training to San Mateo, California, where he shipped out immediately to the Pacific. His duties on the USMM ships Jose C. Barbosa, John Jacob Astor and Winfield S. Stratton, took him to the Battle of Leyte Gulf and participation in the liberation of the Philippines and other battles in which he was wounded in his left foot and back. After a broken hip confined him to a wheelchair in 2004, Ted lived at the TSVH in Bonham where he tried to give back to fellow veteran’s by drawing cartoons, painting pictures for family members, and received the Volunteer Pin from TSVH and the World War II Medal from the George Blakey Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution for his work with Alzheimer patients. 

Ted was descended from a long line of American founders and patriots including sixteen Revolutionary War heroes. He was a member of the Dallas Chapter, National Society Sons of the American Revolution, the Texas Society, Order of Founders and Patriots of America, the Hasbrouck Family Association, and his ancestors, Abraham Hasbrouck and Jean Hasbrouck, were two of the Patentees for the State of New York. 

As a founding member of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church (1956) in Richardson, Texas, Ted used his talents in publicity to help raise funds for the school and church. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Council 799.

He is survived by his children: Colleen Ann Hasbrouck Hahn and husband Earl, Richboro, PA; Patricia Marie Hasbrouck Martin and husband James A., Richardson, TX; Theodore L. Hasbrouck, III, and wife, Carol, Charleston, SC; step-children Cynthia Norris and Kimberly Norris Rainwater; grandchildren: Christopher Hahn and wife Radmila, Bellevue, WA; Jennifer Hahn and Amy Hahn, Richboro, PA; and step-grandchild, Ashley B. Norris, Oklahoma.

Viewing will be held Wednesday, June 27, 9:00 a.m. followed by Memorial Service at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 720 S. Floyd Rd., Richardson, Texas, 75080, with interment later at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Holy Trinity Seminary’s “Ted Hasbrouck Memorial Fund,” at P. O. Box 140309, Irving, Texas, 75014-0309, online at www.holytrinityseminary.com.

Online guest register at www.wisefuneralhome.com.