In 1962, Haenicke received his doctorate, magna cum laude, from the University of Munich.
In December 2008, while giving a speech, Haenicke went into cardiac arrest and sustained a head injury.
[1] In 1995, Haenicke made a cameo appearance in one episode of the sitcom Home Improvement, starring Tim Allen who is a 1976 graduate of WMU.
In that episode, Haenicke played himself, and presented Allen's character, Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, with an honorary doctorate.
[2] The Home Improvement episode would prove to be prophetic, for Allen would actually later be awarded an honorary doctor of fine arts degree by WMU in 1998.