Born on July 22, 1932 in Brooklyn, NY, Honey was the daughter of the late Estelle “Gussie” (Schlissel) and Henry Hager. She was pre-deceased by her brother, Melvin Hager of Rancho Bernardo, CA.
Honey grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Lafayette High School, where she received special honors for attending business classes during her senior year. She met her late husband, William (Bill) at a temple dance. They wed in 1952 and were married for 55 years.
A devoted mother to her children Alan, Paul and Susan, Honey was also a pet lover and “mom” to a Basset Hound named “Missy”, an Irish Setter named “Willow”, a Miniature German Schnauzer named “Fritz”, a Scottish Terrier named “Linus”, and a Silky Terrier named “Dudley” over the course of her lifetime.
While raising her children and maintaining a loving household, Honey also managed to make time for many of her creative outlets and hobbies, including sewing, clothing and costume design, intricate flower beading, Fabergé egg design, doll-making, needlepoint, vegetable and flower gardening (which was her passion), oil painting and cooking. Honey loved to create healthy recipes for her family and was an avid supporter of eating healthy to live longer at a time when most people who did so were considered “kooks”.
As a young mother, Honey loved chaperoning her kids’ school field trips, coordinating music performances and concerts, visiting museums and arboretums, and exposing her three kids to all that nature had to offer. Honey enjoyed evenings of dining and dancing with husband Bill, having big parties for friends and family, and attended countless Broadway musicals in the late 50’s and early 60’s. This love of musical theatre is what led her to encourage all three of her children to take up playing a musical instrument and join the school band, orchestra and chorus. Honey’s favorite season was Spring, and each year on the Vernal Equinox, she would call her kids and sing “The Spring Song,” a ritual which continued up until this year.
While living on Long Island, NY, Honey, regularly volunteered at the local high schools, for the Suffolk County Board of Elections, and enjoyed great success as an on-air ombudsman for the former Long Island radio station WGSM’s “Call for Action” line.
Honey loved traveling, which she did often with her kids and her husband, Bill. During her lifetime, she traveled globally to China, Hong Kong, Panama, Japan and Italy as well as the western United States. She enjoyed cruising on the high-seas as well, and did so many times with both friends and family.
After moving to Boynton Beach, Florida with her husband in the late 1980’s, Honey volunteered at the local elementary school, the public library, the Boynton Beach JCC, and became heavily involved in campaigning activities for the Florida Democratic Executive Committee. She loved giving tours of her favorite local spots when her children and friends came to visit and traveled back up to Long Island whenever possible to attend family gatherings and functions.
Honey is survived by her son Alan and daughter-in-law Gloria in West Virginia; Son Paul and his Husband Alfred in NYC; Daughter Susan and her husband Bob (Mysel) and her granddaughter Jayme in Commack, NY. She will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband, Bill at Wellwood Cemetery.
Donations in Honey’s honor may be made to the non-profit of your choice through GlobalGiving at https://www.globalgiving.org/gifts/inhonor/ . Ecards to: [email protected]
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