Virgina Hagen

Virginia Smith Hagen, wife of 47 years of the late Dr. W.J. Hagen, died at home on August 3, 2013. Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2013 from 9:00 AM until service time at Maria Immacolata Catholic Church, Houma, Louisiana. Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 AM at the church. Private burial will be held at a later date. She is survived by her only daughter Ellen Hagen Bunch and her husband Dr. Richard W. Bunch. Also sons Dr. David Lee Hagen and his wife Melissa, James L. Hagen III, Dr. Patrick C. Hagen and his wife Amy, and Matthew Hill Hagen and his wife Monique. She is survived by her brother Judge Benjamin Harrison Smith and his wife Lynn. She is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Virginia Hagen is preceded in death by her beloved husband Dr. W.J. Hagen who died in 2000, and her son Stephen Wallace Hagen who died at the age of 12 in 1971. She is also preceded in death by her parents Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Smith and one brother Cooper Smith. Mrs. Hagen, known locally as “Mrs. Ginny”, was born in Waycross, Georgia to Benjamin and Maude Smith on January 3rd in 1932. She spent most of her life in Waycross, Georgia until leaving in 1949 after High School to travel to New Orleans to study nursing at Charity Hospital. Virginia was called upon to represent Georgia in the very first ever “Gator Bowl’ which was in Jacksonville, Florida in 1948. Virginia was “Miss Georgia” in 1949. She was accepted into the Charity Hospital School of Nursing which she entered in September 1949. Her love of “hands on” nursing guided her career in order to touch lives. While at school, she met Werner John Hagen and they married on June 9, 1953. Virginia worked at Baptist Hospital on Napoleon Avenue and Touro Infirmary where she was a clinical instructor. With her growing family, she and her husband moved to Houma, Louisiana in 1960. While in Houma, she became involved with Sister Loyola who was sent to town to develop a home nursing care program for indigent families. Virginia always had several “adoptive families” and with the help of St. Vincent Society she was able to help the needy in the community. Mrs. Ginny was loved by many and was very generous with her time. She was dedicated to making life better for the less fortunate and loved family, friends, cooking and laughing. She never met a stranger. The life of being a true “giver” is that of a road less traveled. Ginny traveled this road which was a different and sometimes not so easy path of touching the lives of others. She was a parishioner with her husband for many years at Maria Immacolata Church in Houma. She leaves a legacy of touched lives that were made better because of her, along with the true realization to all that knew her that one life can make a big difference in this world. In closing, the family would like to thank Clara Verdin, the caregivers, Terrebonne Home Care, Dr. Jules Dupont Jr., and Hospice of South Louisiana. The family would like to specifically thank Leslie Ellen Bunch R.N. (granddaughter) and Ellen Hagen Bunch, R.N. (daughter) for their devoted caretaking of Virginia Hagen over the last several years. In lieu of flowers, Memorial donations may be made to the Smile Train- P.O. Box 96231, Washington, D.C. 20090-6231; www.smiletrain.org Donations may also be made to the Stephen Hagen Memorial Library- St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School, 441 Sixth St., Houma, LA 70364; www.stgregorycatholic.org