E. William “Bill” Haffke Jr. ’65

Lawyer, banker, and Cornell College trustee E. William “Bill” Haffke Jr. ’65 died on April 17, 2015. He was 72.

Haffke was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Fort Morgan, Colorado. He graduated from Cornell College in 1965, then earned a master’s degree in political science from Cornell University and a law degree from Duke University.

He practiced law with Jones Day, one of the world’s largest law firms, for seven years, and then joined the Ameritrust Corporation, where he spent 17 years as an executive vice president of credit policy and risk management. He was also a senior partner with Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff.  Haffke founded  CompliSource, a service that helps lenders manage state law compliance governing consumer finance and mortgage lending. He served as the company’s CEO until his retirement in 2003.

Haffke was deeply involved in the community. He served as the chairman of the board of the Cleveland Ballet, and served on the board for the Positive Education Program. Last fall Haffke joined Cornell’s Board of Trustees.

He is survived by his wife, Katherine, two sons and a daughter, six grandchildren, and his brother George Haffke ’68.