Pete T Hagen

1957 - 2020

Peter T. Hagen passed away suddenly on Sunday, August 2nd at the age of 63.
He died unexpectedly, in Seattle, following a medevac and surgery for a glioblastoma. His career as a fisheries biologist in Alaska spanned 34 years, 4 years as a fisheries researcher at UA Fairbanks, 10 years with ADF&G setting up and directing the otolith lab and 20 years with NOAA working first with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Council and the last 7 years as the Deputy Director of the Auke Bay Lab, NOAA TSMIRI. In addition, he served on the North Pacific Research Board and US/Canada Northern Fund Committee as well as on the steering committee for Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative. He was well respected around the state and in Canadian circles as a thoughtful, smart, reasoned, and principled voice for fisheries.

Above and beyond everything else he was first and foremost our cherished husband and father. He was a great human being and a gentle man. His essence was humble, kind, empathetic, spacious, easy going, patient, and loving. He was funny, fun-loving and smart, a true lover of science. He felt incredibly blessed for the miraculous gift of his adopted daughter Annie. He knew in his heart of hearts that Annie chose us, from half way around the world, believing as Chinese folklore does that when a child is born that an invisible red thread extends from the child's spirit and connects to all the significant people who will be a part of the child's life. Her red thread stretched from China to Alaska and for him the thread gave him a spiritual connection that transcended time and space. Across this vast distance father and daughter were two peas in a pod. Love, for Pete was the real mystery in life, which allowed him to point beyond the practical to feel the wonder in his precious life and the love he was grateful to share. For him, being a dad was his greatest accomplishment.

Born in Seattle in 1957, he grew up with a band of brothers (the middle brother of five boys all two years apart) carving sticker bush caves from blackberry brambles out of the urban wilderness and exploring the rich watery shorelines of Puget Sound. His father John took the tribe of boys out backpacking and hiking in the Olympic wilderness and skiing in the Tetons where his grandfather homesteaded and his cousins still live. He landed his first chinook salmon (a 20 pounder) at 6 years of age on a family vacation on Vancouver Island and he was hooked on fish for good! His family instilled in him a sense of wonder, respect, curiosity and love for the natural world that would orient him towards science at an early age. When he came to Alaska the landscape and its beauty amplified everything he already valued and loved. Pete in turn shared this love with his own family through his appreciation of wild places, camping, skiing, boating, fishing, biking, hiking the trail less traveled, and gardening. He found the hard work of housebuilding, growing your own food, gathering seaweed, smoking fish, canning fish, and deer hunting deeply rewarding for both the soul and the spirit. He felt sustained by his modern-day homesteading life. He felt lucky, like a four-leaf clover to have landed in southeast Alaska and Juneau in particular. He recognized the richness in his own life, which he did not measure in material possessions. He lovingly shared his homestead journey with his wife of 31 years, Sara.

Pete was an all-round "fishy" guy and he found his calling in Alaska. After completing a B.S. in Fisheries from the University of Washington in 1981, he landed in Juneau in 1984 to pursue a M.S. in Fisheries from UAS Juneau and a PhD in Fisheries from UAF in 1997. He fell in love with Alaska and never looked back. Throughout his twenties, he worked summers on seafood processors, crewed on longline fishing vessels, and was employed by various fisheries consultants. He did field research on halibut biology and gear for the International Pacific Halibut Commission. These summer jobs took him deep into the Gulf of Alaska; to Larson Bay, Kodiak, Akutan and Dutch Harbor, and he embraced every adventure. In 2003, he finally got his fancy boat, a 22' aluminum Sea Raider. After fishing in a sixteen-foot skiff for years he was blown away by the quiet luxury of a four-stroke motor and a cabin to get out of the rain! He loved to have friends and family come visit so that he could take them fishing, crabbing, exploring, and whale watching and share the magnificent beauty in his backyard. He was a generous host and a decent fishing guide, although catching fish was often times secondary to the peace and serenity he felt on the water. The quiet rhythms of the ocean, the ebb and flow of the tides seemed to match his own laid back internal rhythms. He was in his element on the water. He appreciated the philosophical metaphors that came with fishing, the act of plumbing a line into the deep unknown.

In the last days of his life in the hospital his humor still prevailed. He named his brain tumor the hitch hiker and claimed it had stolen all of his federal passwords. He warned the hospital staff that after his surgery his passwords would escape and that storm troopers would show up as this would be a federal security breach and require a shock and awe response. Despite the overwhelming seriousness of his diagnosis he maintained his sense of humor.

We feel the full force of his love now that it is unbound from his physical body. It is heartbreakingly beautiful to feel its intensity. Yes, Pete love is truly a mystery. We carry your love deep inside and it was such a privilege to share your unique spirit and love; to share the journey.

He was preceded in death by his parents John MV Hagen and Dorothy A. Hagen.
He leaves behind his wife Sara and daughter Annie. Brothers Bob (Deb Smith), Dave and partner Barb Vandeleur, Jim (Jenny Stern), Eric (Julie), brother in law Dan Anderson, and 10 nieces and nephews.
Cards may be sent to PO Box 210005, Auke Bay, AK. Donations in honor of his name may be sent to Chinese Children's Adoption International-Orphan Care and Sponsorship, https://www.ccaifamily.org/Charity/Donation

A celebration of his life followed by a dance party will be held ASAP post COVID.
Please send your email to sphagen2@gmail.com if you want to be notified when we have a date and place for the celebration.