The last time Alaina Hase saw her father was at her wedding.

“I don’t think he was doing well then,” said Alaina, who was married last Feb. 20 in Canada. “I’m so incredibly grateful he could walk me down the aisle. It was so funny because, every time I spoke to him beforehand, I asked, ‘Okay, Dad, what’s going on with the outfit? I need to know what you’re wearing.’”

Chris Hase tended toward “T-shirts and jeans ‘til he moved to Mexico. Then, T-shirts and shorts.”

Fortunately for the nuptials, Alaina’s father opted for “a handmade, Mexican-style shirt with beading on it and black lines. He was so dapper, sort of flaunting his Mexican side.”

Chris, 67, who had been one of FoodBank Lakeside’s most generous donors, passed away almost two months later. Having experienced heart issues for some time, Chris got Covid around Christmas, about four months before he died.

He had retired to Ajijic about three years ago, after having been a stay-at-home-dad primarily responsible for raising three children: Alaina, now 33; Carly, 29; and Sean, 26.

Gift from the Heart

Chris’ kids were moved to donate $20,000 MXN to FoodBank Lakeside in his memory through our Gift from the Heart program.

Honor or memorial gifts such as the one made by Chris’ children puts food on the tables of our neediest Lakeside neighbors, while saying, “I love you,” “Thank you,” “I’m thinking of you,” or “I miss you.”

FoodBank Lakeside wants to encourage others to consider such donations by specifying contributions in a will or suggesting to their heirs they make a donation following their death. For Gift from the Heart donors, FoodBank sends e-cards to their honorees for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and other special occasions.

‘Full-Time Dad’

“He actually was a full-time dad, and it was absolutely fabulous as kids,” Alaina recalled about her father. “We had a lot of activities, and he was an amazing chaperone for every school trip. He volunteered at all our sporting events. He drove us. He did everything. It was really great.”

“My Dad was the ice cream guy at my elementary school!” she noted during his Vancouver memorial service. “You can imagine what the perks of that were.”

The kids’ mother was a popular hairstylist “with great clients,” so she worked while Chris built items for her salon, did bookkeeping and inventory and “fixed everything,” Alaina remembers.

Chris first saw Lakeside while on a motorcycle ride. He returned, told his kids how “cool” it was and bought a house shortly after his first visit to Ajijic.

“This is right up my alley,” Alaina remembers Chris saying.

“Everybody there was very friendly,” recalled Carly. “The food is amazing. Especially more recently when we’ve been there, we can see why Dad fell in love with this place. There’s something special about it, for sure.”

Ajijic reminded Sean of the neighborhood in which they grew up.

“The (ex-pat) community is integrated with the locals,” he observed. “I think he felt right at home being there. The community is so welcoming in so many ways. He found his spot in all kinds of places.”

“I love it as well,” Sean added. “A very charming community, very nice to spend time in.”

Why FoodBank?

“When he saw how far a dollar could go, I think it blew his mind,” Alaina said. “Every time he spoke about it, he was shocked. In communities so close to Ajijic, these families and children going without. He knew he was in a place financially that, if he could contribute and that could help out, he was just very willing to do that.”

For a FoodBank Lakeside-supported holiday motorcyclist event, Chris dressed as Santa Claus.

Later, when FaceTiming his kids, “he was so emotional. When he was explaining the look on kids’ faces and how excited they were to see him, he was like a puddle.”

Chris and fellow motorcyclists would fill empty toilet paper rolls with candy and other treats, tossing or handing them to children. When his own kids went to his home after he passed, “Dad’s house was absolutely packed with these empty toilet paper rolls,” Alaina remembered.

“He was ready for next year,” Carly observed.

“My Dad always kind of lived by the saying that ‘Life is too short, and you’ve just got to do what you can when you can,’” Carly said. “He really showed his generosity to everyone, close and far. He would always donate something, even if it was just his time.

“I hope that people take that as inspiration,” she added.

“He really didn’t expect, nor want, anything in return,” Sean said. “It was just putting energy into the community, to help people in need in whatever way he could.”

A Regular Donor

Chris never mentioned that he was a regular FoodBank Lakeside cash contributor. He would tell his kids that people living near him were “in need and these are my neighbors,” Carly said.

“He wasn’t a rich man, but he was good with his money,” Alaina added. “He liked to contribute in ways he thought mattered.”

At his Vancouver memorial, guests were served Mexican beverages.

“He would’ve approved of margaritas and tequila, so please help yourselves,” Alaina advised those gathered. “If he were here right now, he’d probably tell us all to smarten up, stop being so sad and have a drink. So, with that, I’d like to do a ‘Cheers!’ to Chris!”