Jutta L. Hager, of Waltham, passed away on Sunday, August 14th at the age of 80. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany. She was born of the late Karl and Elisabeth Hager just before World War Two arrived. She survived a night in a Nuremberg apartment with dud American bombs falling in the front yard.
Karl Hager came to the United States at the end of the war as part of Operation Paperclip. Elisabeth and Jutta joined him several years later at Fort Bliss. There, Karl helped develop fuel tanks as part of Dr. Wernher von Braun’s space and ballistic rocket program. The family later moved to Huntsville, AL, then to Clearfield, PA where Jutta found her love of riding horses. Jutta moved to Boston in 1959 to attend Radcliffe (Harvard’s Women’s institution) where she studied German Literature and traveled to Berlin on a Fulbright scholarship.
Jutta became passionate about the study of geology, obtaining her Masters and PhD at Radcliffe. After teaching at Wesley college, she founded her first geological consulting company in 1984. She founded Hager Geoscience in 1993, and has served as its president since that time.
Jutta served on numerous professional boards, and worked on projects like looking for WWII airplanes buried in glaciers in Greenland. She presented at conferences around the world and mentored upcoming geologists for over 30 years. Her work was her passion; it was truly a labor of love for her. She ran her business like a family with snacks in the back room and beer after hours on Fridays. Her other loves were wine, travel, and of course her horse Ty, who she spoiled royally and rode frequently, right up until her last months of life.
Jutta was the beloved wife of Mario Carnevale, of Medford. She was the devoted mother of Carl Alsup and his wife Shannon, and the proud owner of her horse, Ty.
A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, September 6th at 11 AM at the Oak Grove Cemetery, 230 Playstead Rd., Medford.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent in Jutta’s name to the Northeast Animal Shelter, 347 Highland Ave, Salem, MA, 01970, or to the MSPCA-Angell West, 293 2nd Ave, Waltham, MA, 02451.