The Story of Jill: Loved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend.  

Jill passed away peacefully at the age of 73 in Sun City, Arizona, after having complications from colon disease.

Born in Mason City, Iowa in 1947, she was the daughter of Mary and George Budke and younger sister to brother Jack.  She spent her childhood in Mason City and visited often throughout the years, especially to spend time with her mother, Mary, as the two were very close.

It was in Mason City that she met her high school sweetheart, Ray Haus.  He often talks about how she caught his eye and about how he courted her.  During the storytelling, you can see that he always knew she was quite a catch and that he felt very lucky.  The two graduated from high school in 1966 and were married on June 29, 1968, celebrating 52 years of marriage this past summer.  Shortly after they were married, the young couple moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where Ray attended pharmacy school, Jill started her career in the grocery industry, and they started their family. 

In 1971, Jill and Ray moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where they raised their three kids: Ryan, Darren, and Robyn.  Jill spent countless hours as a supportive sports mom for all three of them.  Whether at basketball and football games, volleyball courts, softball and baseball fields, or wrestling meets, she was there proudly cheering.  As the kids were growing up, she also cherished the times spent as a family, and loved telling stories of fun and funny adventures, including a lot of great times in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

When Jill found out she was going to have her first grandchild, she said with a smile and tears in her eyes, “Grandma.  That is the best word I’ve ever heard.”  Since the day in the year 2000 when she became a grandma, she has showered her six grandkids with love, warmth, and laughter.  She also continued her cheering as a supportive sports grandma and had tons of fun at many of their games and tournaments across Wisconsin, Illinois, and even in Cooperstown, NY.  Collin, Cooper, Fletcher, Calli, Finley, and Brody will miss her with all their hearts, but will remember summer trips Up North, fishing expeditions, card games, bocce ball, cookie baking and the best goodbye squeezes ever, usually paired with “I love ya so much, honey.”  Jill will also be remembered as an amazing mother-in-law, who welcomed both Shelley (Darren’s wife) and Robin (Ryan’s wife) into her family with open arms and with whom she made so many great memories throughout the years.

Another source of pride for Jill was her career at the Pick ‘n Save Company.  As the Administrative Assistant for over 25 years, she helped open and manage all three of the locations in Fond du Lac.  Jill kept the place running, met many great friends there along the way, and retired in 2008.

Over the past several years, Jill has loved spending more and more time in Sun City, Arizona, where she and Ray bought a home in 2007 and have spent their retirement years as snowbirds, with warm winters in Sun City and beautiful summers in Fond du Lac.  She enjoyed her time working on her home (new kitchen and all), soaking up the sun, swimming and having coffee with friends, and even adopting a new puppy, Presley (named after her favorite entertainer of all time, of course!).  She and Ray also loved traveling back and forth from Wisconsin to Arizona by car, when they would see new cities and share pictures with the family of their adventures and animals along the way.

Jill and her daughter, Robyn, have always been exceptionally close and have meant so much to each other.  As Robyn moved to Arizona four years ago, the two loved spending more time together – doting on Robyn’s dog, Libby; checking out local estate sales (which they called “saleing”) for the best finds; working on making Robyn’s new house into a home; making art at Clay Club; and of course, talking about anything and everything.  This was a special pair, who were not only mother and daughter, but also best friends.

Mary Jill Budke Haus – wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and light in our lives – will be greatly missed, but always loved and always with us. 

In lieu of services, the family will be getting together this summer to celebrate Jill's life.