Ginny Haugen began her life with her parents Clarence and Olga (Johnson) Grahn, and her older sister Phyllis on American Lake, in the same beloved home where she and her husband Iver eventually retired. During WW2, her family lived in Vancouver, WA, and San Francisco, CA, before settling in Seattle where she graduated from Lincoln High.

Ginny met Iver, the love of her life, at a church camp at 15. They fell in love at Pacific Lutheran College where she was studying to be a teacher. There he proposed and they were married on July 14, 1956, in Seattle. They started their life together in St Paul, MN, while Iver was in seminary, then in Bode, IA, where she taught high school art. At Iver's first church in Cranfills Gap, TX, Ginny welcomed anyone and everyone on Sundays with her beautiful smile and easy conversations. She could make anyone, especially children, feel interesting and loved. She gave birth to Andrea, Kari and Lynnell in Cranfills Gap. Kirsti was born while they lived in Dallas, TX, where Ginny taught at two Montessori preschools, attended by Lynnell and Kirsti. The family moved to Clinton, MD, then McLean, VA, where Ginny taught in numerous roles, including opening and running a parent coop preschool. Iver and "Gin" moved to Bellevue, WA, in 1980, grateful to be back in the Pacific NW. Ginny again taught young children in schools and Sunday school and helped establish a preschool at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church. When Iver and Ginny retired to the home where Ginny was born, she began supervising practicum teachers for Pacific Lutheran University.

Ginny was a gifted artist. Her paintings, weavings and quilts graced their home. She made banners for the church, quilts for grandchildren and strangers, beautiful wedding dresses for her kids. What made her extraordinary was how she saw beauty everywhere. She found joy in what most people overlook, like glancing at the cracks in a sidewalk and admiring the design. When kids colored outside the lines, she would celebrate their uniqueness and praise their creativity. She truly had a "sweet" heart and could make anyone feel precious and loved. She always had a ready smile for friends and strangers alike, bringing her sweetness into otherwise ordinary moments.

Ginny was generous, too, volunteering throughout her life. After retiring, she volunteered in understaffed classrooms, where a first grader asked her if she could be their grandmother. She and Iver built homes with Habitat for Humanity, and wherever they went, made everyone feel at home. Volunteering, study tours and visits with their daughters led her and Iver to adventures on four different continents.

Above all, Ginny was devoted to her family, supporting Iver in every congregation, hosting many joyous holiday meals and family celebrations, painting, playing games, boating and beach combing with her grandkids. Her grandkids came each summer to paint and create, do puzzles and play games—to PLAY at the lake. Each Christmas she would decorate the most beautiful tree, and spoil everyone with Scandinavian treats and sweets. She lovingly cared for her mother Olga after a stroke, and in turn, her daughters had the opportunity to care for her and Iver after dementia slowly took her voice, movement, and even her sparkling smile, but not her inner strength. She was an angel here on earth, and now she is an angel for us all.