Irene Viola Hager
June 10, 1922-Aug. 31, 2021
Irene Viola Hager, 99,
died at the Heart of Amer-
ica Medical Center on Au-
gust 31, 2021. Irene was
born on June 10, 1922, in
the family farmhouse
about 5 miles East of Wol-
ford, ND, the youngest
child of Even Evenson
Haugen and Hannah
Oline (Nygaard) Haugen.
She graduated from Wol-
ford High School in 1941
and then continued on at
Minot State Teachers Col-
lege where she earned her
teaching certificate in
1943. She married Frank
Joseph Hager in Alexan-
dria, Minnesota on July 7,
1947. She taught in rural
country schools and small
communities for many
years before ending her
teaching career at Little
Flower Catholic School in
Rugby where she taught
5th grade for 12 years.
Frank and Irene lived in
Towner until the family
moved to Rugby in 1961.
She recognized her need
for assistance so moved to
the Haaland Estates in
Rugby in 2016. Irene was
a proud member of the
Delta Kappa Gamma –
Lambda Chapter of Wom-
en Educators for over 60
years and the American
Legion Auxiliary for over
70 years. She thoroughly
enjoyed her many years of
volunteer work at the
Heart of America Medical
Center where, in 2008,
she was selected as the
Volunteer of the Year. She
was also a long-time
member of the Confrater-
nity of Christian Mothers,
the Eagles Auxiliary and
Relay For Life as a cancer
survivor.
Irene was a daily jour-
nal writer and was well
known for her perfect
penmanship. In the last
few years, she wrote of
her childhood in “The
Story Of A Lifetime” book
and included the major
medical issues she experi-
enced. She had Di-
phtheria at age two which
was the only known case
in North Dakota at the
time and meant that the
family needed to quaran-
tine and she needed to
learn how to walk all over
again. At age five she re-
quired Mastoid surgery
(hence the serious hearing
loss later in life). Upon
entering 7th grade, she
was diagnosed with Tu-
berculosis requiring total
quarantine to a room at
home and missing her en-
tire year of school.
Perhaps these early health
concerns explain why she
was always trying to stay
healthy in her adult years.
She was an avid walker
and you may have seen
her peddling her
three-wheeled bike
around Rugby. Having to
rely on her “cart” didn’t
stop her from strolling
down the halls of the Haa-
land Estates many times a
day or from her daily mile
on the step machine. Del-
by and Delwyn grew up
with her Sunday chicken
dinners; carrot cookies;
garden fresh vegetables;
all the permission in the
world for playing outside
no matter the weather;
and, staying involved in
every club, team, game,
sport, school and church
activity imaginable. The
winter travels to Arizona
were special to Frank and
Irene and well deserved
after their professional
careers had ended. Irene
was indeed a very spiritu-
al person and taught by
her example, the value of
religious readings, regular
attendance at mass and
prayer. She lived a long
and active life.
Irene is survived by her
son, Delwyn and his wife
Jean Hager of Grand Forks
and her daughter in law,
Janice Hager of Mesa, Ar-
izona. She also leaves 5
grandchildren: Karla
Frost, Jennifer Cleveland,
Mike Hager, Sarah
Paschall and Jon Hager;
along with 13 great
grandchildren, three
sisters-in-law and many
nieces and nephews. She
was preceded in death by
her parents, her husband
on April 3, 2003, a son,
Delby on May 5, 2018,
and her siblings: Elmer
Haugen, Amanda Hov-
land, Myrtle Ekren, Esther
Maute, and Chester Hau-
gen.
Funeral services will be
held at Little Flower
Catholic Church on Fri-
day, September 10, 2021,
at 11:00 AM. Visitation
will be held at the
Niewoehner Funeral
Home in Rugby on Thurs-
day, September 9, 2021,
from 5-7 PM followed by
a prayer service at 7 PM.
Visitation will continue
on Friday morning from
8-10 AM. There is no re-
viewal at the church.
Irene will be buried in Lit-
tle Flower Cemetery fol-
lowing the service.
In lieu of flowers,
please consider a dona-
tion to the Little Flower
School or a local charity
of your choice.
Guests are reminded
that Covid-19 conditions
still exist and understand-
ing in urged. On line tri-
butes at www.niewoehner
fh.com.