The Haskell Journal

Memento Mori

James R. Haskell

James Robert Haskell

(Oct. 6, 1942 – June 20, 2026)

State Center, IA

James Robert11 “Bob” Haskell (Clifford Melvin10, Robert William9 Haskell, Lafayette Haskill8, Daniel Densmore7, Daniel Dunsmore6, Nathaniel5 Haskill, Jeremiah4, Joseph3, William2, William1), age 83 of State Center, Iowa, passed away on June 20, 2026, with his loving family at his side.

He was born to Clifford M. Haskell and Alice M. (Hauser) Haskell on October 6, 1942, in Toledo, Iowa.

Bob grew up in Garwin, Iowa, and was one of two children. He attended Garwin High School, graduating in 1961. Bob served in the Iowa National Guard for six years.

On April 26, 1968, he married the love of his life, Joan Severidt. Together they made their home on their farm in rural State Center and raised two children, Mark and Melissa.

He enjoyed day trips with his family, fishing trips when he could, and listening to country jams. Bob was an avid collector of John Deere toy tractors and belt buckles. He was a farmer who loved his family and was very proud of them. Bob attended St. Paul Lutheran Church in State Center.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Joan of State Center; his son, Mark (Brenda) Haskell of Melbourne, and his daughter, Melissa Haskell of Melbourne; grandchildren, Brandon Haskell of Melbourne and Tyler Haskell of Marshalltown; his siblings, Carol (Earl "Buster") of Albion, Tammie Haskell of Kuwait, along with several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Alice Haskell, and his brother, Terry Haskell.

My Relationship to John Dodge

Richard E. Haskell

For most of my 46 years as an engineering professor at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, my corner, first-floor office was in the Dodge Hall of Engineering, built in 1968, two years after I arrived. The building was named for John Dodge, founder of the Dodge Brothers Motor Company with his brother, Horace, and the first husband of Matilda Wilson, who gave fourteen hundred acres of her Meadow Brook Farm to the State of Michigan in 1957 to establish Oakland University. I first met Matilda Wilson in the fall of 1966, when she hosted a cocktail party for the faculty at Meadow Brook Hall, the 100-room mansion on campus where she lived.

Dodge Hall of Engineering

John Francis Dodge (c. 1920)

Matilda Wilson in front of Meadow Brook Hall

Little did I know I was related to John Dodge through twelve different pedigree lines. I asked the HFA ChatGPT whether John Dodge descended from one of the two immigrant Dodge brothers, William or Richard. It quickly determined that John Dodge descended from William. Through an extended back-and-forth, we determined that I was related to John Dodge through twelve lines.

ChatGPT suggested that this would make a good article for the Haskell Journal and recommended making the centerpiece a one-page graphical pedigree showing all 12 paths in color. I asked whether it could produce such a one-page graphical pedigree in color. Within a minute, it produced the following chart.