PIERRE, SD – Eva Jean Hageman (née Olson), said a peaceful goodbye on the morning of July 9, 2025, after long and courageous battle with cancer. She was 79 years old. Eva’s family will greet visitors from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, Sunday, July 20, 2025 at Feigum Funeral Home. The evening will conclude with a Wake Service at 6:00pm. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10:00am, Monday, July 21, 2025 at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church with interment following at Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Eva was born to Norman and Theresa Olson at St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre, South Dakota on December 3, 1945. She had a lifelong enthusiasm for learning, and she flourished from a young age at McKinley Elementary in Pierre, South Dakota and St. Boniface School in Sioux City, Iowa and continued at Bishop Heelan Catholic High School in Sioux City, Iowa and T. F. Riggs High School in Pierre, South Dakota. In 1967, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Dakota with a major in French. In 1968, she married James (“Jim”) Hageman and together they raised four children, James (“Jimmy”) Albert Hageman, Jr., Nicole Noelle Fleming (née Hageman), Heather Jean Elwood (née Hageman), and Danielle Marie Marchese (née Hageman). In 1981, she married Stephen (“Steve”) Schultz with whom she had a daughter, Yvette Karlene Schultz.

Eva’s love for learning was matched only by her work ethic – she cultivated a career spanning over 50 years, working first as a server at the King’s Inn and teacher at T.F. Riggs High School in Pierre, South Dakota. Then, after going back to school in 1995 and earning three master’s degrees in Linguistics, Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language from the University of South Dakota, she worked as a school psychologist for more than 30 years. She often held multiple jobs to support her family, pay for her education, and advance her career.

Eva also found time to pursue her passion for travel, reading, sewing and especially cooking. Her knowledge of cooking was both extensive and approachable, combining skilled technique with enduring family recipes. She shared this with her kids, as she guided them with ease through making desserts as intricate as Rosace à l’orange and meals as humble as Czech milk soup. She was also a lifelong member of the Catholic Church.

But throughout her life, Eva’s singular love was her family. She spent much of the year traveling among Arizona, California, Colorado, and Missouri to spend time with family members. Her happiest moments came in the chaotic joy of a house full of her kids and grandkids, soaking in the banter, laughter, and occasional gloating over a hard won Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit game. Her family sustained her through her illness, and her five kids spent nearly every minute of her final days at her bedside.

She could brighten any room because she radiated wit, kindness, humility, and a dash of sass. There was no greater testament to the strength of her character than the aplomb with which she faced her cancer treatment – a wink or a smile in the most unlikely and trying moments.

Eva was preceded in death by her parents, a younger brother, and an older sister. She leaves behind an older sister, Ellen, a younger sister, Mary Jane, five children, ten grandchildren-Ashur Fleming, Karsten, Makenna and Kellan Hageman, Madelyn, Merrick and Mason Elwood, Rocco and Nina Marchese, and Maxine Theresa Evangeline Little, and many other family members and friends who will miss her dearly. Condolences may be conveyed to the family at www.feigumfh.com.

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