Regina Ann Schwingler Forseth Hauger was born to Michael and Theresa Schwingler in a farmhouse close to Hosmer, South Dakota on October 17, 1923. She was the youngest of 12 children. On May 13, 2022, she took God’s hand and began her journey in Heaven.

In her own words:

“During harvest time, Mom put me into a baby buggy and took me to the grain fields. When it was time for me to be fed, she would get off the wagon breast feed me, then go back to work. When I was about two, I got a Mastoid infection in my right ear. My parents had to make a 20 mile trip for me to get treatment, repeating the wagon trip many times and I almost died before the infection was cured.

“Our house was two stories with a full basement, a large living room used only for guests, two downstairs bedrooms and two upstairs bedrooms, one for the boys and the other for the girls. We did not have electricity, running water or bathrooms inside the house. There was a large coal heater in the living room that kept us warm in the winter. The kitchen had a wood-burning stove for cooking, a large cabinet for dishes and supplies and a wash stand for cleaning the dishes.

“For entertainment after dinner the family would gather round a kerosene lamp and play cards, do homework or listen to Jack Armstrong, Ma Perkins, Fibber McGee and Molly, the Lone Ranger, the Green Shadow and others on a battery operated radio. Winters were very cold. Sometimes 24 degrees below. My sister and I would walk a mile to and from school each day wrapped in long flannel scarves with only our eyes exposed. We always wore Long John’s, galoshes and snow suits, but by the time we got to school we were all white with frost.”

Mom (Regina) said that as she was growing up on the farm she made money trapping gophers on the prairie getting paid a penny a piece for their tails. She has always been an excellent cook, taking it up at an early age. When ten years old, she was tasked with preparing a “Spring chicken lunch” for the hired help working in the fields. To do this, she went out to the yard, caught a chicken, rang its neck, cleaned it, then brought it to the kitchen and cooked it.

In 1943, mom left the farm to live with her sister, Phyllis in Yakima, Washington before moving to Astoria, Oregon where she met and married Leonard Forseth and was blessed with three children; Gary Forseth (Vivian), Teresa Emmons (Douglas) and Ann Forseth-Smith (Randy). In 1952, our family moved to Arcata. Our father was lost in a tragic commercial fishing accident in 1968, at the young age of 44.

Mom was blessed again with two grandsons — Casey (Kim) Emmons and Jeffrey (Siana) Emmons; one great grandson, Cody Emmons; three great-granddaughters, McKenzie Emmons, Elle Emmons and Emberleigh Emmons, all of Fortuna. Mom later married Ray Hauger in 1978, who passed in 2011. Mom and Ray spent many summers enjoying life at the cabin in Shower’s Pass. Mom always had an incredible garden with many vegetables and flowers. During COVID she spent many hours working in the garden, as there wasn’t much else she could safely do. She always shared the fruits of her labor including those delicious baked goodies. Some say her cookies were like magic!

Mom loved her church family at the Immanuel Lutheran Church and all the friends she exercised with at the S.A.I.L. Senior Exercise Class. She was an amazing lady and such an inspiration to everyone. She believed in hard work and was truly a role model. She was 98 years old! God gave us a wonderful gift and Heaven’s Garden a beautiful new blossom. We will miss her, but never forget her!

Private graveside services were held at the Ocean View Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Immanuel Lutheran Church at 3230 Harrison Ave., Eureka, CA 95501, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or a favorite charity.

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