Shirley B. Hagen

Shirley graduated from the University of North Dakota’s Nursing Program and obtained her professional licensure in the early 1970’s. Her first job unexpectedly was as a night time charge nurse on an orthopedic ward at a hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The work was challenging and rewarding in its own way, but not to her taste. So she consulted with her former nursing teachers and, upon their advice, enrolled in a program for Nurse Anesthetists. She had found her career and eventually her first job at a hospital in Austin, Texas. To this day I remember loading up our 1972 Ford Ranchero with a bed and other household items, and sending her off to Austin with her mother as the navigator while I remained behind to finish off the school semester. Neither had traveled on her own and each had significant navigational issues, but it turned out to be a grand adventure shared by the two of them. Personally I thought they might end up somewhere in Canada, so it was with some surprise that I eventually received a call from Shirley noting that not only had they found their way to Austin, but they had rented a house as well. Remember that these were the cold dark days before cell phones and long-distance communication was both expensive and used sparingly.

Shirley was born in Williston, North Dakota, on March 21, 1950, to Roy and Thelma Lohse of Alamo, North Dakota. She and her three sisters grew up in the Lohse home right across the street from the schoolhouse. One morning during the first grade, my mom had brought me to school for some unremembered reason from their farm north of Alamo, and Shirley crossed the street directly in front of the car as my mom dropped me off. I turned to my mom and distinctly remember telling her that I was going to marry that girl. And on December 29, 1971, I had the pleasure of doing so.

While Austin was a beautiful city in the ’70s and very culturally different from the conservative Scandinavian area we were raised in, Shirley was not pleased with the local insects and also wanted more professional responsibility, so she applied for and was hired for an anesthesia staff position in Boise, Idaho. We remained there for more than 25 years until her health forced her into retirement.

Shirley suffered from depression periodically throughout her adult life but it grew markedly worse after the death of our 15 year-old son in 1999. The only effective treatment we found was through an outpatient ECT program in at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We moved there in 2004 and remained for many years of treatment until eventually finally finding a medication that was effective for her form of depression. By then Shirley wanted to live somewhere warmer, so we moved to Tucson in 2015. Shirley especially enjoyed to first several years but gradually medical issues began to accumulate and she passed away at home in a hospice program on May 12th of 2023. She was preceded in death by her parents and our beloved son Zachary.

Shirley is survived by me, her husband David, our wonderful daughter Dasha and her husband and son Bill and Simon. She is also survived by three loving sisters Diane, Marjory, and Barbara, as well as by many caring relatives, friends and acquaintances.

Shirley and I shared much joy over the course of our lives together and were able to travel and enjoy the company of family and friends. Please enjoy your remaining time with your loved ones and friends for too soon it comes to an end.