With the song Blue Moon coloring the air 
with dip-di-dips and ding-a-dong-dings, Gary Miles Haber, world-renown sun-soaker, expert steak-preparer, poker savant, pool hustler, and general wild and crazy guy, died June 22, 2014.
It is that wild and craziness for which he will be most remembered during his 68 years living in Poughkeepsie, New York. From the moment his father Jacob Haber took time from Haber’s Toy Store to teach him to drive at age 8, his wild spirit guided him on adventures his five children (David, Rachael, Ben, Sara, and Zack) and seven grandchildren (Esther, Ella, Elijah, Caleb, Xander, Grace, and Jack) admire with mischievous awe.
Gary “borrowed” the car at the ripe old age of 14 and high-tailed it to Florida with a $1oo dollars in his pocket and a multistate police search following in his wake. He still holds the record for suspensions at Poughkeepsie High School with 78. Even at Vassar Nursery school, his restless spirit needed corralling; as his friends napped he happily cleaned the brick buildings with an old tooth brush, which may explain his great brushing habits as an adult. Let that be a lesson to us all.
The memory of the various Haber’s Toy Store fires heated his childhood, and it is not surprising that as an adult he found himself learning the ropes of the insurance adjusting industry from his sister’s (Thayer Hochberg) husband Ed. As a public fire adjuster, he channeled his wild emotions into a charisma of hope, a hope in which he helped those broken by their burned past rebuild what was lost.
That charisma and charm helped him distract those gathered around the poker tables at Mohegan Sun, finessed him toward collecting numerous trumps on route to various Bridge championships, and assisted him in his quest of hustling every pool player on the east coast from Chevy Chase to Willie Mosconi. But, above all, Gary’s charm snagged the most beautiful seventeen-year old he had ever seen at Bard College, Martha Simpson Haber, whom he married and started a legacy that will pass on through his children and grandchildren. He later captured, these past 18 years, the patient, enduring friendship of Eleni Vlamis whose caring heart helped Gary through his most physically trying times.
Many a day, he could be found lounging in the grass, his bright white tee-shirt playing a stark contrast to his sun-soaked skin—with a glass of scotch beside him as his mysterious marinade worked its magic on a steak, without a dream in his heart—until it was time for the Blue Moon to rise.
If you feel compelled, in lieu of donations or flowers, place a bet with your bookie in Gary’s honor.
To view the guest book, visit his obituary on legacy.com