Evelyn Jean Hagen (Buys)
Evelyn Jean Hagen (Buys), age 84, passed away peacefully in her sleep in Lynden on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022.
Evelyn was born on July 30, 1938 in Crookston, Minnesota, the third of nine children born to Gerrit and Elsie Buys (Henry “Hank”, Alta, Evelyn, Gordon, Robert “Bob”, Ron, Nella, Dave and Ruth).
The family moved to Lynden in 1940 and lived on a beautiful dairy farm.
Evelyn attended Ebenezer Christian and Lynden Christian School where she graduated in 1956. She went on to spend a year at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan before settling in Seattle in 1957.
It was while working at Boeing in 1958 that she went on a blind date and met her future husband, Arvid Hagen. They married later that year in November, 1958 and spent the next 64 years loving each other.
Their son, Kevin was born in 1960 and daughter, Kerin joined the family in 1963. Both Evelyn and Arvid worked until 1994 when they both retired from Boeing. In 2004, they moved back to Lynden.
Evelyn had many interests/hobbies and excelled at all of them. She loved to create a beautiful home for her family and loved to entertain friends and family. Her rose and flower gardens were works of art.
She loved playing her piano and would spend hours playing old hymns and pieces.
Evelyn took classes to improve her talents — floral arranging and cooking to name a couple. She spent a lot of her spare time sewing clothes and crafts for her family and friends and began quilting a number of years later.
Evelyn spent many years in Bible study fellowship where she served as a leader and would speak occasionally at various church functions.
Evelyn enjoyed serving as a mentor to many young women in her later years. She and her husband, Arvid, spent several years doing mission work in Turkey and Spain with a group of church friends.
Evelyn loved to decorate her home. It was a well-known fact that no decorating fad lasted more than four years in her house; she was known to replace carpet and redecorate when Arvid would leave for a couple of weeks every year to go to Spring Training to watch their son play baseball. Most of all, her husband and her family were her most prized possessions. She loved spending time together and camping and vacationing as a family. She and Arvid would regularly take their seven grandchildren camping in their 29-foot travel trailer.
Their whole-family vacations to Hawaii were treasured events and the highlights of her life.
Evelyn was a member of Grace Baptist Fellowship in Lynden where she was an active part of their congregation and helped serve on their worship team.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, Gerrit and Elsie Buys, a brother, Henry “Hank” and two sisters, Alta and Ruth.
Evelyn is survived by her husband, Arvid, her son Kevin (Kelly) Hagen and her daughter Kerin (Darren) Clark, and grandchildren Kory (Jaelynn) Hagen, Kaci (Benjamin) Ingram, Kyle (Jake) Gray, Taylre (Eric) Secrist, Kent (Rusty Ridley) Hagen, Kennedy (Benjamin) Pedersen and Tanner Clark and seven great-grandchildren as well as her five siblings: Gordon (Florine) Buys, Bob (Berniece) Buys, Ron (Marcia) Buys, Nella Terpstra, and Dave (Kathy) Buys, many cousins, nieces and nephews, and their children.
The family would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the staff at Lynden Manor who lovingly took care of Evelyn for the past year (and patiently and kindly redirected her on her multiple escape attempts) and to Whatcom Hospice for the support they provided for Evelyn and the family.
A celebration of Evie’s life will be at Grace Baptist Fellowship, Lynden on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
Memorial services are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
