Blaine Haskell - The Silver Fox

Blaine Charley Haskell - The Silver Fox, was born in Hailey, Idaho in the Fox building hospital on Christmas Eve 1944. He has an older brother, Dean, who is almost 14 years older. He was a Christmas miracle baby and his parents loved and doted on him every minute. He grew up in Carey, Idaho (a town of about 200 people) and helped his dad run the ranch (hundreds of acres), where he won a fight with a mean badger as a kid, trying to get around her.

Blaine was a star student. He loved his friends and he loved skiing at Sun Valley. Brett Hardy was a fake story he and his friends made up, to avoid reading a real book and doing a report. His best friend at the time, Dale Cameron and Blaine would share these reports. The teacher was skeptical and said that she wanted to see the actual books, but they continued the farce with “It’s in a family collectors collection” and our parents wouldn’t let us bring them to school. Dale and Blaine had lots of great ideas and adventures. Hopefully they did more good than damage.

Sixteen students graduated from Carey High School in 1963 and Blaine was the Senior Class President. In 8th grade he had a leather making class- where he excelled, and made things like a wallet, a briefcase, a gun holster, and a full size horse saddle. He went to Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho where he studied electronics and met the love of his life, Joyce Ann Hansen, from Weiser, Idaho. They were inseparable until he left for his mission in summer of 1964.

Blaine served in Southern Australia Mission for 2 years, serving in Perth, Mildera, Melbourne and Wyala. He was the information coordinator at the mission home, where he met Thomas S. Monson, taking him back and forth from the airport. On Blaine’s way home from Australia, he got sick from Hepatitis and was late going back to Ricks. Joyce waited for him for 2 years, and they were married 5 weeks later, in the Idaho Falls Temple on October 8, 1966. After receiving his Associates in Rexburg, they moved to Provo, Utah where he got his Electronics Engineering Degree. He worked in the AV department and got to go under the tunnels of BYU.

Mandi was born in December 1967, then Blaine got a job in the Seattle, Washington area at the Boeing Aircraft Company. They bought a house in Federal Way. Blaine was busy helping to figure out how to build flight simulators, and helped invent the autopilot program. While in Washington, they had 3 more daughters, Stefanie, Nicole, Colette; and then a son, Garren.

In 1981, United Airlines hired him to be the lead computer programming and aeronautical engineer over the technical support at the flight training center at Stapleton airport in Denver. He was in charge of the computers that ran the flight simulators for the pilots. He loved his job, and we could all go in and do some “fake” flying on holidays, when no one was there. He spent a lot of time in the Youth Program at our church, and the teenage boys loved doing this. He helped United take room size computers down to the size of a suit case, including his help, in the invention of a “little black box” they now put on every airplane in the world. He worked with companies like NASA, Air Force, IBM, and the Italian airline company, Aeroitilia. He was google, before there was “Google”. He could fix anything, do anything, figure out anything. He loved people and his stories got more extravagant every time he told them. As a family we spent 14 years living in Aurora, then moved to Parker.

Growing up in Idaho, he loved anything that was outdoors, especially fly fishing. Other hobbies include golf, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, hunting, handyman jobs, family history, collecting coins, day trading, math, and more math. He read about Quantum Physics, and uses words like protons, Mach, Fortran and software, every day.

After retiring from United, the “silver fox” hit the rivers of Colorado being a fly fishing guide, a dream come true for him, as he had loved fishing since he was 6 yrs old. He even did a few years at Bass Pro Shop, in the fishing section, where he had access to all the best rods. He even invented his own fly that caught fish everywhere he went.

Blaine and Joyce liked to travel, and visited many places, including South Africa, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hawaii, the Carribean, Australia, Canada, Mexico and most of the United States. He loved a good adventure.

Blaine is survived by their 5 children with spouses: Mandi and Ken Kluza, Stefanie and Preston Richards, Nicole Fullerton, Colette Haskell and Garren Haskell. There are also 8 grandchildren with spouses: Nathan and Nicole Berryman, Kayla and Kaleb Essig, Parker and Shelby Richards, Landon and Whitney Richards, Gracie Richards, Danielle Carbine, Tristin Fullerton, and Aiden Mickey; great grandchildren: Larina Appleton, Bella, Savannah, Hazel and Finley Essig, and Ollie Carbine.

Blaine and Joyce loved their family dearly, and loved to teach and spend time with their grandkids. Some of the lessons were how to ski, fish, do genealogy, play sports, win at Rummy-o and be happy. They both served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many faithful callings, and made a difference in this world.

His wife, Joyce, died exactly 2 years to the day before Blaine on May 24, of 2024. He joined her on May 24, 2026. He survived many health challenges, including Parkinson’s for the last 11 years, heart attack, strokes, kidney stones and seizures. He is free from all those physical challenges and is reunited with his sweetheart... together forever. He was 81 years old.

Blaine loved Jesus Christ, and was a righteous father, grandpa, husband, brother, son and friend.

Dad, we will miss your funny stories, vast knowledge and your great sense of humor.

A memorial for both Blaine and Joyce will be held at a later date.