Barbara L. Hagens

Barbara L. Hagens, 89, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday, May 17, 2026. She was born on November 3, 1936 in Appleton, WI.

Barbara is survived by her husband Charles; children, Gregory (Kathleen) Hagens, Charles Anthony (Susan) Hagens, Carrie (David) Merkel, Daniel (Donna) Hagens, and Dawn (Brian) Baker.  She is additionally survived by twelve grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren.

Barbara and Charles would have celebrated 69 years of marriage on May 29.  Family was especially important to her.  She enjoyed spending time with their children, hearing from and visiting with their grandchildren, and simply keeping up with what everyone in the family was doing.

For many years, Barbara was an avid and talented seamstress and quilter.  Her talents provided the family with shirts, blouses, slacks, and dresses, as well as first communion and bridesmaid dresses, swimsuits, jackets, snowmobile suits, tents and more. 

She was preceded in death by her father, Walter Ecker; mother, Gertrude (Jahnke) Ecker; sister Jaqueline (Ecker) Van Toll, sister Sherry (Ecker) Adams, and brother Bruce Ecker.

A Funeral Service for Barb will be held on Friday, May 22, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. at Valley Funeral Home, 2211 N. Richmond St., Appleton. Visitation will begin at the funeral home at 2:00 p.m. and will continue until the time of the service. A dinner will follow the service. She will be laid to rest in St. Paul Catholic Cemetery, Combined Locks.

Barb took great pleasure in bird watching and spent many hours looking out of her kitchen and cabin windows enjoying multiple birds at her feeders.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Audobon in her memory at www.audubon.org.

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