Pauline J. Staeheli Hagan

Pauline Jean (Staeheli) Hagan (age 87) passed away on August 10, 2011 at her home at Colonial Court in Spokane, WA. She was born in Parkwater, WA on November 18, 1923 to Paul Matthew and Erma Jean (Alexander) Staeheli. Her grandparents, Elmer Eugene Alexander and Bertie Lewis Alexander were Washington State pioneers, having arrived in Washington Territory in 1885 and 1883, respectively. Married in Spokane Falls in 1888, they lived on a preemption between the Spokane River and the Northern Pacific Railroad tracks on property which is where Felts Field is now located. Pauline received her diploma from North Central High School in January 1942. In 1946, she graduated with honors from Holy Names College in Spokane, receiving a B.A. in Education and several years later a B.A. in Liberal Arts. She was editor of the year book for two years and was named to “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities”. She also attended Gonzaga University, Whitworth, and Eastern Washington College, totaling eight years of credits, many in the library field. She taught fifth grade from 1946–1952 in Davenport, WA and after working at the Whitman Library in Colfax, WA for nearly three years, taught fourth grade one year at Broadway Elementary School in Central Valley School District and then spent 25 years as librarian at Broadway, retiring in 1981. Pauline married Donald Hagan of Davenport, in 1950; they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 2000 in Spokane where they lived in a home built and bricked by her husband where the two of them thoroughly enjoyed the wildlife including blue birds, deer, quail and many other types of wildlife. She enjoyed gardening, walking through the woods in earlier years, creating stained glass, her doll collection, and writing. In 1967 she completed a booklet of Spokane Indian Legends. Pauline was a charter member of Alpha Omicron chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Education Society from 1958–2002, charter member and past president of two doll collector’s groups, a life member of the National Education Association, and a member of the Spokane Area Retired Educators Association. In 1975 she joined the Eastern Washington Book Review Council and was senior editor for over 20 years. She was also a member of the Eastern Washington State Historical Museum. Pauline sang in the choir at St. Paschal’s Church which she attended for many years; in her later years she was a member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Ruth Hagan Holter, and sister-in-law, Alice May Chandler Staeheli; nephew, Paul Staeheli; cousins including, Victor Hansen, David Alexander, and Thomas Staeheli all of Spokane; as well as other cousins, nieces and nephews. Pauline was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Glenn Staeheli; and her husband in 2008. A memorial mass will be held on Thursday, August 18, 2011 beginning at 10:30AM at St. Aloysius Catholic Church 330 E. Boone Ave. in Spokane. Inurnment will begin at 2:00PM at Holy Cross Cemetery 7200 N. Wall. Memorials may be made to House of Charity 32 W. Pacific, Spokane, WA 99201; the Spokane Humane Society 6607 N. Havana Spokane, WA 99217; or the Hospice of Spokane 121 S. Arthur PO Box 2215, Spokane, WA 99210-2215.