Robert Floyd Hagemann, 88, of Mendota passed away February 7, 2021 at Heritage Health, Mendota.

Robert was born near Welland, just outside of Mendota, on December 1, 1932, to Henry M. and Hazel E.B. (Mathesius) Hagemann. He attended Mendota schools, but really was a self-starter, learning about and operating several businesses on his own, without a formal education. With the exception of his two years in the United States Army, he lived his whole life in the Mendota area and community.

As a young man, he worked for Elmer Beitsch at his Greenhouses in Mendota, which is when and where he realized Mendota needed a nursery and landscaping business. In the early summer of 1953, during the Korean War, he was drafted in the United States Army, doing his basic training at Fort Riley in Kansas, and spent the next 2 years at Fort Sill, in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he was trained as an electrician.

On July 18, 1953, he married Lorraine A. Kolczaski, of Peru at St. John's Lutheran Church in Mendota. He built his family's home on 11 ^th Street by himself. Together, they had four children, David, Dale,

Debbie, and Donna, with their first child born while still in Lawton, and the others born in Mendota.

With his wife, Lorraine, they started up, owned, and operated the 11 ^th Street Nursery & Landscaping, a business they started by selling geraniums, in the late 1950's. He also worked at Marathon Electric in

Earlville, until they built up the business for full time work for him and his family, who all worked together, as a family business. They operated their business entirely from their home, and they ran it for over thirty years. Some years into the business, he also began a specialized seasonal business, making thousands of Christmas wreaths, roping, swags, and grave blankets for local folks and businesses in the community. To retire, Bob & Lorraine sold the nursery & landscaping business to Dan McConville, who continues to operate the business, next door, on 11 ^th Street.

After 43 and a half years of marriage, his wife, Lorraine, died in January of 1997. He later married Donna Pfeifer on June 9, 2001. Together, they have enjoyed life with each other for nearly 20 years.

Robert, "Bob" was a dedicated and avid hunter and fishermen all of his life, with many, many hunting and fishing trips with his friends and family members, taking him to various places around the country, including bear hunting in Maine and Minnesota, and fishing in Florida. And, for many years early in his career, for additional (winter) work, Bob also had a taxidermy business, again, at his home, where he completed many, many hundreds of mounted trophies of fish, deer, bear, etc., for local sportsmen.

Bob was a lifelong member of St. John's Lutheran Church, where he served on the Church Council for a few years, and a member of the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as other local organizations related to small businesses and sportsmen's groups.

Bob is survived by his four children with his wife Lorraine: David, of Duluth, MN, Dale (Deb), of Mendota, Debbie (David) Hof, of LaSalle, and Donna (James) Kuntzi, of Jacksonville, FL, and also his step children with his wife, Donna: Robert (Brandy) of DeKalb, and Barbara (Barry) Boyle, of Earlville, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren, and his brother, Dennis (Colleen) of Edgerton, WI, as well as several nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and his brothers, Kenneth, Roland, and Donald, and a step son, Wally Pfeifer.

Due to COVID restrictions, funeral services will be private, for immediate family only Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, Mendota with Rev. Ken Gibson officiating. Burial will follow at Restland Memorial Gardens, Mendota with military honors by Mendota VFW Post 4079. Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota is assisting the family. A memorial service is being planned for later in the summer, for all family and friends, as well as the community Bob lived in and landscaped for many years.

Memorials may be directed to St. John's Lutheran Church.