Jean Marie Hague was born July 24, 1941 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to Jerome and Helen (Lepsch) Hundt. Jeanie had a younger brother, Stanley Hundt.

Jeanie and her family moved from La Crosse, after she finished kindergarten, to the Sun Valley neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. She attended Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, and graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1959. During high school, Jeanie had a host of babysitting gigs and often boasted about her famous clientele. She was proud to buy her first car with babysitting income.

Upon graduation, she was employed at a savings and loan, and a high-end department store in SoCal, proud that she “ran the place for years.”

From 1968-1969 she lived on a sailboat in the Caribbean. She often told grand tales of this time, living mostly off of canned goods — she didn’t really like fish. Her favorite memories of the sailboat adventures were the people she met along the way.

After years of boating adventures in tropical places, Jeanie landed back in Sun Valley. In the late 1970s, Jeanie rode with a friend in their VW bus to Humboldt County. They lived modestly in Trinidad, where Jeanie cleaned houses for wealthy families in the neighborhood, and she formed relationships that lasted a lifetime. 

Eventually, Jeanie started to work at Humboldt Coffee Shop in Eureka, during which she bought a home in Cooper Gulch (Eureka), which was in poor condition, but Jeanie had a million friends that pitched in and offered their skillsets to fix it up. She created an artsy abode that she cherished for years to come, often wanting to drive by long after selling the place.

Jeanie met Jack Hague at the coffee shop — their first “date” was a trip to Pierson Building Center for supplies. Jack made Jeanie feel like a queen and they were deeply in love. They were married in 1989 and moved to McKinleyville, into a brand new house that Jack had built overlooking the 10th hole of Beau Pre Golf Course. 

Jack and Jeanie often travelled to their home in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. This was Jeanie’s happiest place. She LOVED Mexico. The sun, the people, her neighbors, the food, the lifestyle, and the language. Friends often visited and spent time there. 

In 2011, Jack died at home, cared for in his final days by Jeanie. He was the love of her life, but she put one foot in front of the other and kept seeing the beauty in life. 

Jeanie was not one to sit idle. She belonged to a McKinleyville book club, where she met her best friend Fran Armstrong, a companion for life. They stayed true to a 5 p.m. telephone wine date, right up until the last few months. She proudly volunteered in the Emergency Department (where she developed a friendship with Jen Foesig) and Chemotherapy Clinic at St. Joseph Hospital, poured wine at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, and spent 35 years with Ink People. She never met a stranger!

An avid reader of books, magazines, and newspapers, Jeanie also painted with watercolors, stayed current with world events, loved to walk around the neighborhood, putter in her garden, hold conversations with an open mind, play cribbage with her “clubhouse friends” on Friday nights, and listen to her favorite band, Pink Floyd. JEANIE WAS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY! As she slowed, she loved to sit in her recliner by the window, watching the golfers and Turner Classic Movies. 

We are grateful for the care received by the staff at Providence St. Joseph Hospital, PACE, and Hospice of Humboldt. She had a beautiful view of redwood trees and the best care team at the Ida Emmerson Hospice House, where she passed into her next adventure on April 13th, 2026. 

Jeanie enjoyed many regular visitors, including Jesus Toscano-Medina, Monica Topping-Adams, Amy Pollock, Don and Kathy Miller and LB, Carol Palmer, Naomi Abbot, Jim and Diane Ravelli, Chad Regan, Jill Spriggs, and regular phone calls from Fran. Always a collector of the best people, Jeanie was the center of a constellation of people, many of whom only got to know each other because of her.

Jeanie is survived by sister-in-law Sue Hundt; Jack’s grandchildren, to whom she became “grandma,” Justin (daughter Brisha and Brisha’s mom Cata), Brandon, and Tanya Hague; niece and nephew Heather Hundt (Sean Goodchild) and Tim (Ana, daughters Chanel and Katrina) Hundt.

Jeanie loved Humboldt County, her friends and family and felt she had a wonderful life, until the final days.

A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, July 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville. Per Jeanie’s request, we will wear black attire (to coordinate with her final outfit in her favorite color), and enjoy some of her favorite refreshments and Mexican food. There will be an opportunity to share stories.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite nonprofit, or consider a gift to Hospice of Humboldt or the Ink People in Jeanie’s memory.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jean Hague’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.