Kristen Jane Hagstrom
Kristen Jane Hagstrom, beloved wife of Stephen W. Hagstrom, mother of Erik Rand Hagstrom and Britta H. Numair (George), and grandmother of Olivia Numair, passed away on March 5. Her death was the result of complications during treatment at the Ridley-Tree Oncology Center in Santa Barbara, California. She was 68.
Born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, Kristen was the daughter of John A. Gersbach and Carol M. Gersbach of Swarthmore, and the sister of Carl R. Gersbach of Devon.
The Gersbachs moved to the Philadelphia area in the summer of 1952, and settled in Springfield, Delaware County. In 1959, they moved again to the borough of Swarthmore. There, Kristen attended Swarthmore Elementary School and graduated from Swarthmore High School (SHS) in 1970. At SHS, Kristen was active in both sports and academic pursuits, and she developed many close friends. She had a profound love of horses and worked in local stables during school. She loved riding through the countryside near Radnor Hunt Club. She also developed a love for the New Jersey shore that would lead to many summers spent in Cape May, New Jersey, during her college years.
Upon graduating from high school, Kristen chose to follow in her father’s footsteps, enrolling at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. However, after experiencing her first upstate New York winter, she made the decision to transfer to the University of Delaware. She graduated from the University of Delaware in 1974, receiving a degree in art history.
On May 13, 1978, Kristen and Steve were married in Rye, New York. They lived there for five years, then lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Richardson, Texas, and Claremont, California. In 2015, they moved to Goleta, California, near Santa Barbara.
Kristen was a determined and conscientious stay-at-home mom for Erik and Britta. As they grew older, her career expanded from procuring art for several galleries, to assisting the director of Pergamon Press, to assisting the city manager and staff in Claremont, California.
Kristen leaves behind her beloved husband of more than 40 years, Stephen; son Erik; daughter Britta; granddaughter Olivia; and beloved pets, Zoie, Punk, and Zini.
A memorial service celebrating Kristen’s life was held in Santa Barbara, California, on June 27, during which her ashes were scattered in the Santa Barbara channel.
A second memorial service will be held at the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church in October.
