William Louis Hase

HASE, WILLIAM LOUIS, age 75 of Lubbock TX, passed away Monday March 23, 2020. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leila June Myers and William Louis Hase, Sr. He is survived by his wife Alice Young of Lubbock TX; his daughter Heidi Joy Hase (Kevin Larkin) of Bend OR; and his brothers Randall Hase (Linda Hase) of St. George UT, Allan Hase (Cindy Hase) of Fort Myers FL, and Gayle Hase (Judy Schlan) of Carrabelle FL.

Bill was born 22 March 1945 in Washington MO. He began school in a three-room school in Holstein MO and, after the Missouri River flood of 1951, continued studies in the one-room Scott School in Bachelor MO. When he began seventh grade in Mexico MO in 1957, he found he was ahead of the other students. He credited his high school teacher George Craddock with inspiring his lifelong interest in the intersections of chemistry and mathematics.

Bill received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Missouri (1967) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from New Mexico State University (1970). He completed postdoctoral studies at New Mexico State University and the University of California, Irvine and, in 1973, joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at Wayne State University. After a short period in which his research focused on experimental physical chemistry, Bill shifted his research focus to computational/theoretical chemistry. Bill joined Texas Tech University in 2004 as the Robert A. Welch Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He was appointed Horn Professor in 2014. 

Agape Funeral Chapel provided arrangements. When the family is able to gather, a graveside service will be held at the Warrenton City Cemetery, Warrenton MO. Colleagues and former members of Bill’s research group plan a symposium, now tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2021, to celebrate his life and scientific contributions. The family would value donations in Bill’s name to the South Plains Food Bank, the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, or the William L. Hase and Alice M. Young Fellowship in Chemistry at the University of Missouri (407 Reynolds Alumni Center, University of Missouri, Columbia MO, 65211). 

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