Bruce Edward HAGEMANN

HAGEMANN, Bruce Edward May 14, 1950 - December 5, 2014 A lifetime resident of Sonoma County, Bruce was fatally injured while working sheep on his ranch. First son of Stanley and Phyllis (Dollarhide) Hagemann, he was raised with his siblings, Ken, Ray, and Cathy, in Rohnert Park. He graduated Santa Rosa High School in 1968 and attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He was active in Stueben 4H and Santa Rosa FFA. It was during these early years that he was inspired by Wes Jamison to become involved with agriculture. Married Pam Peterson November 12, 1977, who also knows him as "Mr. Wonderful". He loved and supported his three children, Heidi, Heather and Matt. His progeny includes nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. As a child, he started working in the family meat shop on A Street. He worked his way up in the business, ultimately managing Hagemann Meat Company in Santa Rosa. He had the heart of a true entrepreneur and started his own businesses multiple times. His first venture was to earn his private pilot's license. He flew chartered flights in his Cessna 182 out of Sonoma County Airport in the 70's. In 1975, he began working the land on the ranch adjacent to his parents in Bodega Bay. He became a skilled rancher, relishing the challenges of the diverse skills necessary to work land and livestock. He was a long time member of the Redwood Empire Sheep Dog Association, and won the state championship at the California State Fair with his beloved border collie, Ben, in 1977. He was still actively training dogs to work and guard the sheep on the ranch. In 1985, he was named Sonoma County Fair's Young Rancher of the Year. He and his wife established the family trout farm nearly thirty years ago, enriching the lives of many young children and parents. Bruce and Pam loved seeing the excitement in the faces of the kids when they made their "first catch". He owned and operated three fishing boats over the years, eventually captaining a commercial salmon and crab fishing boat, in the late 80's. After retiring from 30 years with the meat company, he decided to start a sand and gravel trucking business. He was generous to his friends and family, sharing his skills, tools and equipment whenever they needed help. Over the past few years, concerned about the many tasks he did to keep busy, family began attempting to persuade him to relax. He became fond of declaring, "When I finish this project I will slow down." As Bruce would say, we are having a "shin dig" at his son's house at 19001 Hwy 1 on Saturday, December 13. Bring your favorite potluck dish and story to share, anytime from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., rain or shine.