Heidi Lane Hagen

Heidi Lane Sites was Born November 26, 1948 in Portland Oregon to Shirley and Jerry Sites. Heidi was the second daughter and younger sister to Diane Sites. In 1956 Shirley moved with her daughters and Grandmother Agie to the Oregon coast where Heidi attended school in Taft. Shirley, Heidi's mother, owned several restaurants in Taft and Culver City where Heidi started working at the age of ten. As a young girl her favorite activities were roller skating and long walks on the beach.

Mike Hagen, the town's paper boy as a child, met the girl who would become his wife when he went to work as a dishwasher and food prep helper in Shirley's restaurant at the age of seventeen. Mike and Heidi, a senior and freshman in high school, went on their first date in 1962 after Heidi had mentioned the dance at the local roller rink. After graduation Mike joined the US Marine Corps and in 1965 he was deployed to Vietnam. Meanwhile Heidi completed high school and gradated in the spring of 1966.

Mike was set to return home from his first tour of duty, until he was wounded on September 16, 1966. Mike and Heidi's wedding date then became a "ping pong" of dates, says Mike. In December they were, at last, reunited and married one week later on December 10, 1966. Together they moved to the camp Lejeune Military base in South Carolina to finish out Mikes' enlistment period. In 1967 Mike had decided to get out of the Marines, but chose to re-enlist when they discovered Heidi was pregnant with their first child. On March 20, 1968 Shirley Anne Hagen was born in South Carolina.

Heidi, now pregnant with their second daughter, moved back to Oregon after Mike was ordered to return to Vietnam in 1969. On September 27, 1969 Michelle Leigh Hagen was born in Salem, Oregon. Mike returned to the United States and the family of four moved to San Bernardino, California in 1970. There Heidi began taking pre-requisite classes to apply for a nursing program. In 1974 Mike opted to do a one year overseas in Okinawa without his family, so Heidi and the girls moved back to Oregon for a year to live with Heidi's mother.

In 1976 Mike returned to the United States once again and the family was stationed in Yuma, Arizona. There Heidi began nursing school at Arizona Western Community College and graduated with the class her class in 1979. At that time nursing boards were still a test, taking place over two days, administered in a large room with roving monitors. It consisted of four tests each containing five-hundred questions. The test was offered on the East and West coast simultaneously, so applicants had to travel and stay in the city's the test was being offered in. This became one of the years of infamy for nursing boards. It was thought that the East coast side boards had indeed been discovered to have cheaters. The nursing board wanted to make the entire group of nursing candidates across the United States re-take the test. Thankfully, it was overturned, so Heidi received her nursing license and began her career. She spent the early part of her career in the pediatric ICU in Arizona.

Shortly after, Heidi and the girls moved back to Oregon to live with Heidi's mother, once again, when Mike was transferred back to Okinawa for another year in 1979. Meanwhile Heidi continued to further her career working at Emanuel Hospital on the medical floor. Upon returning to the states in 1980, from what was to be his final deployment, Mike received his second to last order and the family moved to San Diego, California. Their new home provided easy access to two of Heidi's favorite places, Sea World and The Wild Animal Park, where she could observe two of her favorite animals, penguins and sea turtles. Armed with season passes, frequent trips were made to the two parks. Sometimes Heidi would go alone just to watch the beluga whales for the morning.

In 1983 Mike received final orders from the military and was "ordered home" after twenty years of service. Mike proudly stated at his retirement party, "Heidi has spent twenty years following me, and now it's my turn to follow her," so the family packed up and moved back to Oregon for good. Heidi went back to work at Portland Providence Hospital and started in the IV Therapy Department. Later she challenged herself and transferred to the Emergency Department, but finished off her career as an Advice Nurse and Case Manager. Heidi retired, in 2005, due to health issues that were preventing her from working any longer. Three years later Mike retired from Precision Cast Parts, in 2008, to spend more time with Heidi who's health was steadily becoming quite fragile.

Mike and Heidi, now both retired, found they had time to travel together. They enjoyed: two Alaskan cruises, an eighteen day tour of Europe (Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Paris and London) and three trips to Hawaii. On their final trip to Hawaii they were accompanied by Mike's older brother Tim and his wife Eileene who are special and treasured friends.

Although we all wish her years on this Earth could have been longer we know with certainty that her years were well spent. She loved just as she was loved, unconditionally.