Elouise Nunnery Hagen

She was born Elouise Nunnery on September 2, 1927 in Auburn, Mississippi. She attended high school at the beginning of the Second World War. While the majority of women in her high school class chose marriage or work over high school, Elouise valued education most of all and was the only female student to graduate in her high school class. After finishing high school she left Auburn, Mississippi for the big and bustling city of Mobile, Alabama, where she worked as Flight Scheduler at Brookley Field. After the war’s conclusion, she married Charles E. Hagen and they welcomed their only child, Charlotte, in 1953. In 1966 the family moved to the Panama Canal Zone. When the family returned to the United States five years later, they opted to drive through Central America and Mexico. As an avid traveler, Elouise went on a grand tour of Europe in the early 1980s.

In addition to her position at Brookley Field, Elouise was homemaker, a domestic diva. She enjoyed attending to her rose garden, cooking all things southern and seafood and on occasion made her and her daughter's clothes to ensure they were in the height of fashion. In retirement, she enjoyed spending time with her granddaughter, helping her daughter with a rental business, and volunteered her sharp mind and mathematical skills to help others with tax preparation. She and her husband along with her daughter and granddaughter spent a large amount of time at their Dauphin Island home (constructed by family members), where with an abundance of fresh crab meat she perfected her seafood gumbo and crab cake recipes. Her husband Charles passed away in 2001. Their beloved Dauphin Island home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina just a few years later. As an avid Alabama Crimson Tide and Saints fan she enjoyed watching games with granddaughter and was elated to see the Crimson Tide return to their former glory and for the Saints to finally win a Superbowl!

Declining in her later years due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Elouise took comfort in the love and care given by her daughter and nurse Winnie. She is preceded in death by her husband Charles; bothers John Nunnery and J.W Nunnery; and, sisters Marguerite Nunnery and Estelle Allen. She is survived by her brother Theo (Helen) Nunnery; sisters Florine (James) Oliver, Bobbie Nell (Charles) Martin and Doloris Lindsey; daughter Charlotte Hagen; granddaughter Sevanne Hagen Steiner; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visitation will be held at Radney’s Funeral Home on Saturday, June 30 from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m., with a memorial service to follow directly. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to Friend of the Mobile Animal Shelter (855 Owens Street Mobile, AL 36604; http://www.cityofmobileanimalshelter.com/help.php) or The University of Alabama’s Alumni Association’s general scholarship fund (Box 861928 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35486-0017; http://giving.ua.edu).