Ann Louise Bisgard

Ann Bisgard passed away December 17, 2022, from respiratory complications of Parkinsons.

Ann Louise Hegener was born December 30, 1943, to Aloysius and Lillian Hegener (Hinrichs) in Petoskey, Michigan. She was the oldest of five children. They grew up skiing in the winter, spending time on the water and surrounding lakes in the summer. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in 1961.

She attended Saint Xavier College in Chicago, IL and earned a nursing degree. Upon graduation, she immediately moved to the west coast to enter a masters in nursing program at University of California San Fransisco. Her years in San Francisco brought her a taste for independence, self-sufficiency, all of which she held onto for life. These years are also great fodder for stories like when she bought herself a manual transmission VW Bug without knowing how to drive it. She figured it out, and on the hills of San Francisco, nonetheless. This attitude went on to serve her well and she tended to do things like rewire entire areas of the house with just the guidance of a Sunset book.

She met Carl Bisgard at Moffat Field Naval Hospital in 1968 soon after he returned from Vietnam where he was stationed at Da Nang Naval Hospital. They married in Petoskey, MI on May 17, 1969, with her uncles Father Wilbert & Father Mark performing the mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. They spent time in Chico, CA, Portland, OR, Bainbridge Island WA, La Grande, OR over the next few years as Carl finished his medical training and they had two boys.

Ann and Carl moved to Walla Walla in 1977 where he practiced anesthesiology, and their daughter was born. Ann was active in the community from the beginning, always focusing on the care and education of women and children. She started with supporting breastfeeding mothers through Le Leche League, and she was soon volunteering in the school libraries and with PTA. As with all things, she always put her energy into it, and to that point, she was soon involved in PTA at a state level and earned 3 Golden Acorn awards for her service. All 3 of her children attended Walla Walla Public Schools and she believed deeply in public education. Her energy eventually shifted to the Walla Walla YWCA and all their wonderful programs and support for women and children. She served on the YWCA Board of Directors, and she was active in the Quilt Guild and PEO group locally in her later years.

Her other outlets were cooking, sewing and quilting, and gardening. She loved babies, kids, and dogs; ultimately having 3 children and numerous spoiled Brittany Spaniels over the years. Her quilting fabric stash and gadget collection was impressive. She had a remarkable eye for fabric colors and patterns and loved fiddling, though it was always with precision. As a lifelong subscriber and devotee to Bon Appetit, and she was dismayed when it stopped publication. Her vices were white wine with ice cubes, trashy romance novels, watching football, reheated decaf coffee, and she loved a mimosa without the orange juice on Christmas morning (that's just champagne mom...).

Carl credits all good things in his life and all their Childrens' good qualities to Ann. He would routinely joke that she was a pillar of society and he a pebble. And most people would agree he would probably be in jail if he hadn't met Ann and she hadn't escorted him into polite society.

Ann is survived by her husband Carl, her four siblings (Martha, John, Mark, and Mary), her three children Anders (Michelle), James (Kathy) and Sarah (Alok) and her five grandchildren (Allison, Nolan, Kiran, Rohan, and Mena).

Donations can be made to the YWCA at https://www.ywcaww.org/give, or by calling 509-525-2570, or in person at 213 S. First St in Walla Walla.

A celebration of life with plenty of white wine and ice cubes is planned for June in Walla Walla.