Services Monday for Muriel Haegele, 87

Services for Muriel Anne Fugate Haegele of Menlo Park will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park.

A resident of Sharon Heights for 50 years, Ms. Haegele died peacefully at home on Dec. 4 at the age of 87.

Ms. Haegele was born in Pocatello, Idaho, and grew up in Aberdeen, Idaho, where her father, Glenn Fugate. was one of the owners of the Bank of Aberdeen. She was a graduate of Aberdeen High School and a 1945 graduate of the University of Idaho, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

She met her future husband, Rowland Haegele, when they were students at the university. Theirs was a wartime romance. They were married Jan. 4, 1945, in Aberdeen, while she was a senior in college and he was on leave from the U.S. Navy.

After graduation, she taught history, journalism and English at Aberdeen High School, while her husband was serving on the destroyer USS Benner overseas.

After the war, the young couple lived in New York City, San Mateo, and Salt Lake City before moving to Menlo Park in 1960. The Haegeles were among the first families to move into the Sharon Heights subdivision.

While her sons, Glenn and Jay, were young, Ms. Haegele was active with Cub Scouts. She was a member of P.E.O., the Children’s Home Society, and her Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae chapter.

A housewife from another era, Ms. Haegele elevated homemaking to a fine art, say friends. Her home was immaculate and, wearing a white lab coat, she prepared delicious meals, even when eating alone. Her sons fondly remember her pies and angel food cakes. She took classes in flower arranging, cooking, even napkin folding.

She also loved gardening and enjoyed meeting with her gardener every week.

After her children were grown, Ms. Haegele worked in the home furnishings department of Saks Fifth Avenue in Palo Alto for 10 years.

The Haegeles were season ticket holders for Stanford football and men’s and women’s basketball games. They attended the Rose Bowl three times and traveled to San Antonio with Stanford alumni when the men’s basketball team played in the Final Four. They were members of the Buck Club. Friends recall the gourmet tailgate picnics Ms. Haegele prepared for football games.

Mrs. Haegele is survived by her sons Glenn R. Haegele of Menlo Park and Jay E. Haegele of Willits, brother-in-law John Olson of Portland, Oregon, and four grandchildren. Her husband, Rowland Haegele, died in 2001.

Memorials may be made to the University of Idaho Scholarship Fund.