The University of Idaho Argonaut

Hundreds attend memorial service for journalism instructor who died Saturday

On the third floor of the Administration Building, Sandra Haarsager’s office sits empty. Her photos, papers, books and awards remain where she left them the last time she was on campus in late September, before taking a birthday cruise. After the cruise, Haarsager developed an infection that resulted in her death.
The University of Idaho gathered Thursday evening to remember Haarsager, who died Saturday at Gritman Medical Center.

Haarsager, a professor in the Journalsim and Mass Media department, was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in 2005 and was hospitalized Oct. 3 after complaining of breathing problems, according to family friend Mindy Cameron. She slipped into a coma early Oct. 5 and never woke up, Cameron said.

“This whole thing leaves a big hole in our department,” said Vicki Rishling, a colleague in the journalism department who first worked with Haarsager at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, known at the time as the Idahonian. “She was such a huge part of this department.”

Haarsager first worked at UI in 1979 as director of information services. In 1988 she was an instructor at the university and also a full time student in the American Studies graduate program at WSU. Despite having two children, Anna and Andrew, under 6 years old, teaching a full load of classes at UI and taking a full load of classes at WSU, she still managed to finish her doctrate in two and half years, said JAMM director Kenton Bird.
“It was just remarkable,” he said.

“She was an incredibly productive scholar,” said JAMM instructor Pat Hart, who graduated from the same program. “She was very thorough and very, very fast. Faster than anybody anyone had ever known.”

In 1999, Haarsager became the associate dean for the College of Letters and Science, where she worked for five years, Bird said. In the spring of 2005, she returned to the journalism department as a professor.
“That was really exciting for us,” Bird said. Haarsager’s professional experience combined with her institutional knowledge was valuable to the department, he said.

Haarsager’s professional career began in Twin Falls in 1965 as a general assignment reporter at The Times-News. She then worked at the Idaho Statesman in Boise as an education reporter.

It was while she was with the Statesman that Bird first saw her work. He was a student at UI at the time and remembers seeing her bylines in the newspaper, he said. It was also at the Statesman that Haarsager first met Cameron.

“She was very much like people know her today,” Cameron said. “We just hit it off. … She was very adult and mature at a very young age.”

The women’s friendship lasted for years, and Cameron and her husband, Bill, eventually introduced Haarsager to her future husband, Dennis, Cameron said.

Six weeks after meeting, the couple was married, she said.
“She seemed like such a methodical, planned person,” Cameron said. “It didn’t seem like something Sandra would do.”

Former colleague Jay Shelledy remembers Haarsager as his “journalistic hero.” While working at the Statesman, Haarsager was following a story about issues facing the Boise public school system. She received numerous anonymous threats warning her that if she continued to follow the story, she would be hurt, Shelledy said.

“She was understandably nervous,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I advised her to use common sense, but not to sweat it too much. Not great advice, as it turns out.”

One evening, Haarsager was attacked in her home and stabbed twice in the abdomen by a man identifying himself as the letter writer. She recovered quickly, Shelledy said, and returned to the Statesman, and the story.
“To continue reporting in the face of such terror requires courage few of us could summon,” he said. “To this day, when talk turns to those reporters who risk all covering war zones or fearless journalists who toy with prison for writing what authoritarian regimes don’t want to hear … I always tell of the bravest journalist I ever knew.”

In addition to being a published author — Haarsager wrote two books and was working on a third — her friends remember her passion for music.

Trained as a classical pianist, Haarsager never turned down an invitation to play for an event, Hart said. She often played at university events and community fundraisers for no charge.

“Her playing at these made the events so warm and personable,” Hart said. “She never asked for a thing. … Not only would she play the piano, but she’d also write a check.”

Haarsager was also involved in the university’s jazz choirs. Jazz Choir I and II performed some of her favorite pieces at Thursday’s memorial.

“Music was such a huge part of her life,” Hart said, recalling that Haarsager told her she had a keyboard with headphones on it so she could learn new music while the rest of her family slept and not disturb them.

As friends, students, faculty and community members entered Thursday’s memorial service, recordings of Haarsager playing the piano were played. Throughout the ceremony, pieces that were her favorites were performed, including “Unforgettable,” “Lean on Me” and “Take Your Time.” The music for “Take Your Time” was written by former UI instructor Jon Anderson, who taught Haarsager piano. Haarsager wrote the lyrics for the song.

“She was a great student, friend and collaborator,” Anderson said. “I’ve never met anyone with as much drive and passion to learn about the world around her and love her family and friends. She lived life to the fullest and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.”

Haarsager took a sabbatical leave this fall and was not teaching classes when she died, Bird said. She was using the time to write a book with her husband about new media technologies. Despite being on leave, she still came to campus about once a week, he said, and kept her seat on the Faculty Council.

Just weeks before her death, the Haarsagers went on a cruise in the Caribbean to celebrate her 61st birthday, where she fulfilled her dream to ride a jet ski, Cameron said. Her death was unexpected.

“That really illustrates that she was going to give it 100 percent until the end,” Bird said. “She did not feel cancer was going to change what she was doing. It was a chronic condition that she was going to manage.”
The journalism department is still shocked by her death, Bird said.

“She went so quickly,” he said. “We’re still in a state of disbelief.”
“We all knew we were likely to lose Sandra before she had accomplished all that she was capable of, but none of us, I suspect, thought it would be so sudden and deprive of us the opportunity to say goodbye,” Cameron said. “We are all privileged to have had the gift of Sandra’s friendship.”