Hildegard Pauline Elges

Hildegard Pauline Elges passed away at her home in Bakersfield California on November 4, 2019 at the age of 92. She was born on May 23, 1927 to Karl and Rosalia Elges in Faith South Dakota. She graduated from Lead high school and went on to graduate from the University of South Dakota. Subsequently, Hiidegard found a high school teaching position in Bakersfield where she was a beloved language teacher (Spanish and German) for over 40 years. Although never married, Hildegard had a large family of 2 brothers, 8 nieces, 6 nephews, 11 great-nieces 12 great-nephews, 2 great-great-nieces, and 3 great-great-nephews.

Hildegard had many passions and interests in life that kept her very busy every day. Core to all those passions was her strong Catholic faith. She was a dedicated parishioner at St. Joseph's for the past 65 years where she not only attended weekly mass but volunteered in many different capacities. Hildegard's gift of faith could be seen in how she lived her life and in everything she did.

Hildegard also had a passion for education and teaching foreign languages. With her parents being German speaking immigrant, she had desire to teach German which she did most of her career. However, her love for language went beyond just German as she also spoke Spanish fluently and taught that language for most of her career as well. Lastly, her love for teaching and her ability to speak many languages enabled her to also teach English as a second language. Those who knew Hildegard will tell you that she truly enjoyed helping others learn not only a new language but also the cultures of the areas of the world in which those languages were spoken.

Hildegard's multilingual ability came in handy as she also had a passion for exploring the world. She not only traveled the United States extensively but internationally having been to 6 continents and countless countries during her almost 75 years of travel. She was a strong/independent person who never feared exploring new places and meeting new friends. Moreover, wherever she traveled she always sought out extended family. She was clearly the keeper of the "family tree" and could tell you about a cousin twice-removed and how much fun she had meeting his/her family. She truly was the person who kept the entire extended family connected.

Her love for immersing herself in other cultures and for education drove her to live and teach in other countries through exchange programs. She relished the opportunity to pick up and move to another country with the chance to teach and learn. The stories she could share with her family and students through those experiences were unbelievable.

Her love for family was demonstrated in so many ways and often combined with her other passions. For example, her love to explore the world was often combined with her love of family by her generously taking nieces/nephews with her on her travels. So many of her nieces and nephews first exposure to other countries was through her and it often was for an extended period of time. Many of them could tell you stories how they spent months with Hildegard traveling through Europe, South America or wherever her travels took her. The word "travel" truly understates the experience as it was more of an adventure when exploring the globe with Hildegard as she always took the "road less traveled by" and it really did make all the difference.

Hildegard lived through the depression and certainly appreciated hard work and the value of a dollar. She would drive from California to Colorado often to visit her family and not wanting to waste money on a hotel she would sleep in her car along the way. No need to stop at a restaurant either as she had all the needed supplies in her car to eat and drink (and never buy soda from a machine). Although she was never wasteful, she was always generous. She showed that in so many ways including combining her passion for family and education by giving her nieces/nephews money for college. Her family was always amazed how she could provide so much to them on a teacher's salary. Clearly, in her life she gave more to others then she spent on herself.

Hildegard Pauline Elges, Faith, Family, Generous, Independent, Strong, Dress Maker and Explorer, will be missed by all that knew her.

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