Thelma Hagen

Location: [Home Page] [Contents Page] [Arlyn] [Dave] [Jon] [Warren] [Susan] [Thelma Hagen]

Highlights

Name

Thelma Christine Dahlgren Hagen

Position

Mother of 4, Grandmother of 6, Great-Grandmother of 13; Retired Farmer and Agriculture Dept. Administrator

Best known for

Best Cook and Highest Energy Person in Roseau County

Awards and honors

All the Good Housekeeping Awards ever published

Main Projects

She’s graduated from Beach Hiking and Cross-Country Skiing to Gardening and Great-Grandmothering. But, always apt to learn new skills, she surfs the internet and e-mails to her Great-Grandchildren also.

She hiked the perimeter of Oak Crest and the Golf Course in all four seasons. She stayed active until her induction into Roseau Manor in 2010.

About Thelma

Thelma Christine Dahlgren, the daughter of Ingeborg (Larson) and Nels Dahlgren, was born on June 25, 1921 in Roseau, Minnesota. She and Arlyn Hagen were married on February 1, 1942 in Wisconsin. They started their life together in Milwaukee until he entered the US Army and served in Europe during World War II. She returned to Roseau, where they were to live out the rest of their lives. After Arlyn’s honorable discharge with medals, they moved to their farm one mile East of Roseau that still remains the family farm today. They begin a dairy operation and delivered milk door to door, later serving customers who came to the farm for milk. They also farmed grains and hay in Spruce and Stafford townships, while Thelma worked as a cashier in the bank and later as a clerk in the Agriculture Conservation office. They received continual recognition as one of the cleanest farm in the county. Thelma was very active in the First Lutheran Church and community projects. She enjoyed fishing on Lake Of The Woods, keeping up the farm home and spending winters in South Padre Island, Texas. Her adventurous nature took her on overseas trips, visiting sons on assignment in Belgium and Italy and also doing a family pilgrimage to the Swedish homesteads of both parents—a voyage back to the old country that neither Nels or Ingeborg were able to take themselves. Thelma passed away peacefully on June 4, 2016 at the Roseau Manor Nursing Home, a few days before her 95th birthday. She is survived by children David (Patty) Hagen, Jon (Bonnie) Hagen, Warren (Marsha) Hagen and Susan Cummings; grandchildren Jeffrey (Robyn) Hagen, Kelly (Scott) Kofstad, Kathy (Matthew) Zencius, Paula (Todd) Hedlund, Todd (Nicole) Hagen and Kari (Jeffrey) Robinson; great-grandchildren Tessa & Jordan Hagen, Katelyn & Logan Kofstad, Morgan & Taylor Zencius, Adam, Ellie & Lauren Hedlund, Austin & Rylee Hagen and Jeffrey, Kennedy & Kamryn Robinson; and siblings Betty Lansing, Margaret (Joseph) Warrick and John (Virginia) Dahlgren. She was preceded in death by husband, Arlyn, sisters DeEtta Pettyjohn and Isabel Brandt and Son-In-Law Howard Cummings.

These photos should say it all about Thelma and her retirement years:

Thelma Surrounded By Great-Grandkids @ Thanksgiving!

One of Thelma’s Five 4-Generation Families!

Thelma and Great Grandchildren on the Beach!

Earlier Shots of her 4th Generation Family!

Eulogy For Thelma, June 2016

Good Morning! We are gathered here today to celebrate the long life of Thelma Hagen. We are here to pay tribute to her many contributions to this community. It is a known fact that, as long as one of your parents is alive, you are still someone’s child. I am fortunate enough to have been a child for 74 years. Everyone here knows of Thelma’s accomplishments, so I need not review those today. Instead I’ve decided to focus on her attributes. I’ve selected 6 of them, one for each letter of her name. T--H--E--L—M—A

T is for Truthfulness. Mom could not tell a lie. George Washington had nothing on her; he would not tell a lie, she COULD NOT tell a fib. Here’s an example: We fished often in Canadian waters so each year we went up to buy our licenses, needing only gender, last name, first initial and date-of-birth. 4 or 5 of us would get one & Arlyn would put then in his tackle box. With all the same last name, he could fish Jon or Warren or a cousin on mine, for example. Finally we decided that we should broaden our scope. If Mom would fudge her age down, say 10-12 years, we’d have more opportunities to fish Marsha, Bonnie, Mary Lou,etc. No agent, bobbing on cold waters with everyone in fishing gear is going to question a woman’s age, give or take a decade. So Thelma approached and he noted gender, then asked “last name” Hagen, “first initial” T, “date-of-birth” Pause…”date-of-birth” Pause…. Finally she blurted “Arlyn, You Tell Him!”. And so he performed the sleight of hand for her.

H is for Hard-Working Mom was a full-time mother, a full-time homemaker, a full-time cow milker, and worked a full-time job out of the home. You cannot find a resume’ like that anywhere today, I can assure you.

E is for Energetic Thelma was the poster-woman on the Oak Crest brochure that you have all seen. She is out walking the trails around the Assisted Living facility with her cane and a broad smile. Before that she walked every mile of the Padre Island beach, with Arlyn waving at her each time she passed by. Also, she created her own cross-country ski trail all around the home farm. She would not slow down until it finally became necessary.

L is for Loving. Mom lived for others. She cared deeply for everyone around her, family or not. She was a safe port in a storm for anyone who needed help.

M is for Motherly. Thelma mothered everyone who was a generation younger than her. Not only her kids, but also nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors. She even mothered Dad. You’ve all got images of her combing his hair, adjusting his tie, selecting his shirts, etc. Here’s one case in point to give you an idea how much she took care of Arlyn: We were there one weekend morning and Mom was in the garden. Patty volunteered “I’ll make a pot of coffee. Arlyn, where’s your coffee maker?” This is a guy who’s lived in that same house for 50 years, and he replied: “I DON’T KNOW!”. I heard it myself, but wasn’t surprised.

A is for Adventuresome. Mom was game for any adventure. She made 5 overseas trips and countless visits to Canada and Mexico. She crossed the French Alps over a glacier in a suspended cable car, even though she was afraid of heights. But she was also adventuresome on a smaller level. A case in point is Spring Break on Padre Island. The college kids trashed the beach every night. The town told the beer distributors to clean it up. The beer distributors told the kids to clean it up, and they offered prizes for empty beer cans and other trash. So Mom and Dad stocked their apartment with prizes that they got picking up trash every morning before the kids arose (Beach Umbrellas, Frisbees, Can Coolers, Glassware, etc.). Finally the distributors told them that they were stealing all the incentive and wouldn’t be eligible for prizes anymore. But Thelma would not be daunted by this challenge. Now, instead of collecting 100 items they picked up 200 items and hired a young kid to cash them and they both got an Umbrella!

That pretty much sums Thelma up in 6 letters. To conclude: She NEVER complained. And, she apologized for EVERY meal, even though it was perfect! I’ll close with a phrase I learned from Garrison Keillor, but it makes me thing of what my mother would have told me: Be Well. Do Good Work. And Stay In Touch.