E. Nadine Harrang

1927 - 2013

1927 - 2013

Nadine Harrang died on November 10, 2013 at her home in Eugene, Oregon, surrounded by family and friends. She was 86.

Born Ella Nadine Hutchison on May 2, 1927 in Pendleton, Oregon to Marvin and Lois Hutchison, she was the youngest of four children: Ralph, Keith, Marva, and Nadine.

Her father was a wheat farmer and cattle rancher in Pilot Rock, Oregon. Nadine grew up milking cows and doing other farm chores, even some usually reserved for men, such as driving the wheat truck from alongside the combine to the grain elevator during harvest.

Nadine was part of her family's first generation to attend college, entering the University of Oregon in the fall of 1945. A music major with a minor in education, she graduated in 1949. After receiving her teaching certificate, she worked as a high school music instructor in Newport, Oregon.

Through her sister's husband, Nadine met Jim Harrang, who was attending college and then law school at the University of Oregon. Nadine and Jim were married on June 11, 1950 in Eugene, Oregon.

An accomplished pianist, Nadine found great joy in music all her life. She regularly attended the Oregon Bach Festival and Eugene Symphony, and for many years took a group caroling at local nursing homes, accompanying them on her accordion which she played expertly despite never seeming to practice. She faithfully attended every concert and recital by her children, all of whom inherited her passion for music (even if no one fulfilled her wish by playing the cello).

Nadine was an enthusiastic participant in her family's many outdoor and athletic adventures. When everyone took up jogging, Nadine joined in and competed in a number of road races, including a half-marathon. Nadine traveled extensively with her husband, always holding her own whether biking hundreds of miles on the back roads of Spain, rafting for weeks on the Colorado River, or trekking the Andes of South America including summiting Mt. Pisco in Peru, elevation 18,897 feet.

Throughout her life, Nadine volunteered with various community affairs, education, and arts groups, including the PTA, The League of Women Voters, and The World Affairs Council of Oregon. In keeping with her lifelong interest in other cultures and languages, she was active in the Foreign Student Friendship Foundation at the University of Oregon, which introduced her family to visiting students from countries as diverse as Japan, Sweden, Thailand, Ecuador, and The Gambia. She studied Spanish at Lane Community College as an adult, and vowed to learn how to say "thank-you" in every major world language.

Nadine is survived by a grateful husband, Jim; four children: Caron, Jeff, Kevin, and Signe; and six grandchildren: Jessica, James, Malena, Owen, Rachael, and Colton, through whom her spirited love of life lives on.

Friends and family are invited to the Oregon Electric Station, 27 E 5th Ave. in Eugene, from 2:00-4:00PM on Saturday, November 30 for an afternoon of Remembering Nadine (casual attire).