Carl Herbert Haag died peacefully at home on April 23, 2025. He would want you to know that he was 71 days shy of turning 97 years old. He was a traveler, collector, loyal friend, and family man, and fascinated by the world and people around him. He is remembered as being intelligent, kind, generous, humorous, creative, quirky and caring of everyone he met. He was known for having a prodigious memory of people, places, food, and factoids of every imaginable kind. He is survived by his wife Carol, children Cindy and Ken, daughter-in-law Nikki, and grandchildren Elia and Grace.
Carl was born July 3, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the only child of Anna and Albert Haag. He explored the city and the surrounding area with his mother and his childhood friend Herb Field. He and Herb spent a summer with a Mennonite family in Virginia that was a treasured memory. One of his delights as a child was becoming a magician. His mother and he were avid bicyclers, staying in a youth hostel at an early age. Later he led cycling trips with Canadian Youth Hostel in Canada and Europe. Much later he took his wife and children on a cycling trip through the Canadian Rockies.
Carl was a bright child and attended accelerated classes in junior high. Following graduation from high school he enrolled in the US army knowing that the GI bill would help him go to college. Following WWII he was sent to Japan in the Quarter Master Corp and loved exploring the country and learning about the culture. There he searched through college catalogues A-Z and stopped at Antioch College. He graduated from Antioch College in 1952 after studying philosophy. Antioch was a significant influence on his life, and he took seriously Horace Mann’s challenge to “win some victory for humanity” before he died.
Following a short stint in the admissions office at Case Tech, he went to the University of Michigan achieving a PhD in Educational Psychology. He stayed on at U of M teaching some very creative and engaging courses to emerging high school teachers. In his desire to share the story of his creation of a fictious student from the days of working at Case Tech he responded to a job offer at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, NJ. He was so intrigued with the Advanced Placement Program that he left Michigan and took the job. And the rest is history! He worked as the Director of the AP program for 27 years.
ETS brought many good things into Carl’s life including his wife Alice Carol Schwartz. He saw her in a play as Mommy in the “American Dream” and thought she was dreadful, but when they took a walk at ETS and he saw her take her shoes off in the mud he fell in love with her. They were married on his birthday in 1965 at the Unitarian Church and made their life in Princeton for the next 60 years. They built a house in the woods and raised their two children in that house. Cindy Lara was born on New Year’s Day in 1968 and Kenneth Alan was born November 8, 1970. Carl created a magical, loving environment for them to grow up in. Long before he died Carl wrote a note for his family to find saying: “You were the best things in my life and I loved you deeply.”
Carl was an avid photographer and his kids often remembered him with a camera in front of his face. His photography was his art and he was very skillful at capturing his life experiences through photographic images starting from an early age. He enjoyed photographing people and the natural world while camping, at every family occasion and throughout his many travels around the world. He loved to share his photographs with friends and family.
Unitarian/Universalism was very important to Carl, coming from a non-religious background. He was engaged at local, district and continental levels. As a member of the congregation, he served in many ways including being the president of the church, committee member, teacher, historian, library creator and welcomer. He was elected president of the Metro NY District and served continentally on the ministerial fellowship committee. He was instrumental as a board member of the Universalist Retreat Center Murray Grove, saving 200 acres of New Jersey shoreland. Growing out of his UU experience he also helped create and lead a men’s group that lasted for decades and continues on.
Carl was an avid collector and was fascinated by tools and antiques. He had all sorts of fun collections including old coins from many countries, candle molds, apple peelers and cherry pitters, stamps, postcards, saws, copper and brass scales and lanterns.
Traveling was one of Carl’s favorite activities. As he said he traveled to three corners of the world. He loved camping, canal barges, home exchanges, cruises and bicycle trips. He enjoyed and excelled in planning all the details of the trips.
We raise a glass of glögg to an amazing human. Those who knew him know that he was genuinely interested in the world and all the people in it and possessed a palpable joy for life. He valued relationships and was a great listener, asking engaging questions to draw someone out and learn about them. Carl’s creative way of seeing the world made him a great story-teller, talented historian and playful companion. He cared about the environment and social issues. He was a deeply loyal and caring friend, father and husband. Carl was a gentle, loving soul who made an indelible impression on the earth and will be deeply honored and missed.
There will be a memorial service later this summer at the Unitarian Church of Princeton. Send inquiries to: [email protected].
