Richard L (Red) Haines, 89, of La Crescent, Minnesota passed away peacefully in his home Friday, November 10, 2023. He was born in Portland, Jay County, Indiana on November 8, 1934 to Roger and Florence (Nixon) Haines.

Red worked for Honeywell as a reliability engineer most of his life. After retiring from Honeywell Red and his wife Diane purchased a farm in Houston County, Minnesota, where Red spent the next 30 years focusing on his passion for nature and working to return the farm to it's natural state.

Red passionately enjoyed many hobbies, enjoying the thrill of learning with each new endeavor he pursued. He had read an entire set of encyclopedias as a child and his passion for learning never waned. Highlight hobbies he enjoyed included flying single engine airplanes and gliders, traveling, Ham radio (WO0W), gardening, reading, astronomy, bicycling, sailing/boating, and in recent years working on his farm on a bluff top near La Crescent in Houston County, Minnesota. He was also a flight instructor and generally enjoyed teaching. His travels (mostly in his own Cessna airplane) took him all over North America. He would say he went as far North and West as Alaska, as far South as Belize, and as far East as Ireland. Red even took his wife to Ireland in a Cessna 182.

Red is survived by his wife of 47 years Diane (O'Flaherty) Haines; brother Gaylord Macy; sons from his marriage to Donna (Deal) Haines (Deceased) John (Rebecca), Rick, Jeffrey (Aimee), and Robert (Heather); step children David (Bonnie), Lori (Mike), and Mike (Rachel); and numerous grandchildren. He was preceded in death by son George.

When asked about holding any kind of memorial at his passing Red would say that he wanted his friends and family to bring their own memories of him, to share the happy memories they had of him, and for them to make a positive change in the world. He implied that these were the best ways to honor him and his life. In lieu of flowers or gifts the family requests donations to Aldo Leopold (aldoleopold.org), The International Wolf Center (wolf.org), or the UU Fellowship of La Crosse (uualacrosse.org).