Larry Hagen

Larry Hagen, of Oak Park, Illinois, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, April 26, surrounded by family, after a long battle with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Larry was born on March 24, 1940, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Beloved husband of Mary nee McGuirk; Loving father of Erica Hagen (Mikel Maron) and Alyssa Hagen (Jonathan Sparling) ; Cherished grandfather of Ruby, River and Luna; Caring  brother of Terry (Darlene) and Marilyn Revelli. He attended the Holy Cross seminary in La Crosse for high school and college, graduating in 1962, and spent one year at St. Paul Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. He then decided the priesthood was not for him, and moved to Chicago, where he had spent summers as a gravedigger. There he started working as a high school teacher, took part in improv theater, and later worked as a probation officer for the juvenile court system. He then pursued a Master of Social Work at the University of Chicago and met Mary McGuirk, also a social worker, whom he married on Sept 6, 1975, at the University of Chicago’s Bond Chapel. They moved to Oak Park in 1977 and had two daughters, Erica and Alyssa.

After the birth of his first daughter in 1977, Larry attended night school at Chicago-Kent College of Law at IIT and then began private legal practice. Most of his legal career was spent in immigration law, often taking on difficult political asylum cases. He was able to get residency for many people fleeing from persecution in Africa, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. He also returned to the juvenile courts, working as a juvenile probation officer for many years. After retirement from law, he worked as an adjunct professor at Lewis University in Cultural Diversity. A lifelong reader, he was a member of Oak Park’s longest-running book club, and enjoyed singing at the St. Giles Family Mass and other choirs.

A seminal experience for Larry, which he never tired of relating, was meeting Martin Luther King, Jr. in Chicago in 1963 at the National Conference on Religion and Race at the Edgewater Beach Hotel. He became very involved in the civil rights movement and even followed King to the March on Washington. He was also proud to have met Barack Obama when he was campaigning to become an Illinois State Senator.

Despite his challenging career, Larry always maintained a sense of humor and was easygoing – unless the topic was politics. He loved telling stories from his life, the civil rights movement, and Chicago’s social and political history which fascinated him. He also loved genealogy and visited Norway and Sweden to meet his extended family. Larry thought the best of everyone, and championed the underdog in every situation. A loving and very attentive dad, he was always ready to be a cheerleader for his girls in their latest pursuits, and put his family first in every way. In 2013 his first of three grandchildren was born and he embraced his new role as grandpa. Larry will be dearly missed by many.

His family would like to thank everyone at the Rush University Medical Center Movement Disorder Clinic, and Accent Care hospice nurses and caregivers.

Memorial visitation will be at Saint Giles Catholic Church on May 11, 2022 from 9:30a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial 10:30a.m.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: the Heartland Alliance, https://www.heartlandalliance.org/, or the Multiple Systems Atrophy Coalition, https://www.multiplesystematrophy.org/.

Arrangements entrusted to Peterson-Bassi Chapels