The Rev. Patricia 'Pat' Hawley, one of the early female Lutheran pastors, dies at 82

The Rev. Patricia "Pat" Hawley spent her adult life pushing past the traditional roles of housewife, mother and church member. While raising three children, she attended seminary and joined one of the first waves of women Lutheran ministers. She spent her career finding ways to support women and make the church more inclusive.

"She was really a trailblazer for her time," said daughter Kristin Trecker.

Hawley, of Burnsville, died on April 8. She was 82.

In her decades as a pastor, Hawley served at House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Richfield, Richfield Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and as a visitation pastor at Edina's Normandale Lutheran Church.

Hawley rarely discussed the discrimination she faced after she was ordained in 1982. Her daughters heard stories about how some men would walk out of the sanctuary when Hawley began her sermon, returning just after she'd finished speaking.

"She never batted an eyelash at that," said daughter Julie Kline. "She just quietly led."

Hawley attended St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota and became a teacher, a job she left when her daughters were born. Years later, while attending her home church in Burnsville, she approached a speaker visiting from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Paul and asked if he had any women in his classes. He said there was just one.

While their peers' mothers were baking and leading 4-H groups, Trecker and Kline remember their mom rehearsing her sermons as she loaded laundry.

"My mom did not fit that traditional role or that stereotype," Kline said, laughing about Hawley's subpar cooking. But every holiday or special occasion included an elaborate table setting — proof that she delighted in bringing her family together in celebration.

Hawley bucked tradition in another way when she dropped her married surname and reclaimed her maiden name in the 1980s. Her late husband, Carl Wolander, was supportive and encouraging of the decision, which Hawley described in a church publication as "self-affirming."

Hawley was also founding pastor of a task force to bring more inclusive language into the church. Over time, the group became a space where women could discuss sexual harassment and sexism, something Hawley believed church leaders needed to pay more attention to.

"I think the theme of [advocacy] was in her DNA," Trecker said. "She expressed that by asking 'How can we make the church more inclusive and accepting to everyone?'"

"Those things were not talked about in the '80s," Kline said.

Hawley enjoyed reading and traveling to learn about history and to visit churches around the world. She loved celebrating family members' birthdays and spending time with her four grandchildren. She juggled her many roles — wife, mother, minister, grandmother — while building connections with her community, her daughters said.

"We were very lucky to have been raised by her and with her courage and integrity," Kline said.