Obituaries

October 22, 1961 to june 29, 2015

WINAMAC - Ricky Lee "Chief" Hagen, 53, passed away at 1:21 p.m., June 29, at his residence in Winamac.

He was born Oct. 22, 1961 in Logansport to Freddie Junior Hagen and Dorothy Stellter Hagen. On June 14, 1980, he married Kathi Riley. They had a daughter Mia together. On Aug. 5, 1988 he married Cynthia Marsh Hagen who had three sons, Joe, Erik and Daniel from a previous marriage, and later they had a daughter Hope of their own.

Survivors include:

Cindy Marsh Hagen, Winamac, Wife
Dorothy Stellter Hagan Winamac, Mother
Joseph (Ariel Blount) Budka, Winamac, Son
Mia (Kevin) Salyers, Winamac, Daughter
Erik (Whitney) Budka, Winamac, Son
Daniel Budka, Winamac, Son
Hope (Adam) Kestle, Winamac, Daughter
11 grandsons and one on the way
5 granddaughters
John (Dawn) Hagen Winamac, Brother
Cathy Becker Hagen, Burnettsville, Sister-in-law
Linda Lizenby, Plymouth, Cousin
3 Nieces
3 Nephews

Preceeded in death
Freddie Junior Hagen, Father
Rodney Hage,n Brother

Mr. Hagen was employed at Good Oil Company for several years. He also worked at the Star City grain elevator. He also worked at McGrath Refrigeration and at Richard Gumz Farms, and doing odd jobs until it was time to retire. He will always be remembered as “Mr. Fix It!.” He was always using his hands building something every day. He loved being with his family, going hunting and fishing and shooting guns. All his grandchildren will always remember their tractor rides on Papa Rick's blue tractor. He loved to walk around his property looking at everything that he and Cindy had worked so hard to build.

His motto was “It’s my way or the highway!” Ricky and Cindy had 26 years together, they raised their children their own ways. They always managed to get through what life threw at them, and this is the lesson their children learned from them. Ricky and Cindy always believed they needed to keep going and never give up. Ricky fought to the end until he couldn’t fight anymore.

Mr. Hagen donated his remains to an organization called “A Gift of Hope” to help others have a chance to have another day with their loved ones. The family stated, "We are very grateful to have had such a strong father and husband who will still be helping others with his generous gift. Life has no manual especially when a loved one has cancer. Ricky always showed us that if we just believed and fight every day that things would be alright. He fought very hard to keep going until the end. He loved his wife, his children, grandchildren, his family and his friends very dearly. We all loved him very much and we always will. We will miss you Ricky until we will see you again one day."

A celebration of life service will be scheduled at later date.