William Lee Hagerman

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at Delhomme Chapel of the Flowers for William Lee Hagerman, Ph.D, 83, who passed away on January 24, 2009 at 3:09 PM at his residence in Lafayette. '''''''''''''''Kenneth O. Burke, Pastor of The First Lutheran Church, will conduct the funeral services. Dr. Hagerman, a resident of Lafayette, LA, was the son of the late Willard Ray Hagerman and the former Lula Yeager. "Dr. Bill" was born in Centralia, Washington and grew up in the near by town of Chehalis, where he met his wife Nancy. After receiving his Bachelors Degree from the University of Washington, he worked with his father in his wholesale beverage business and then moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon to run his own distributing company. After some years in Klamath Falls, he decided to go back to school to teach. He received a Masters Degree from the University of Oregon and receved a teaching position at Wayne State College in Nebraska. While teaching he began studying for his Doctorate at University of Nebraska. Shortly after complection of his Ph.D, he accepted a position in 1979 at University Southwestern Louisiana now ULL . He always encouraged people to go back for more training and education. If they were not satisfied where they were; he'd say "It's never too late!" He loved teaching and the students he taught until the end of his life. After he retired he got a Fullbright fellowship and taught at the University of Bucharest in Romania for a year. When he came home he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which with a failling heart, after a long struggle, finally killed him Saturday. He had been growing grapes and making wine before he moved to Louisiana. He became very involved in hybridizing grapes hoping to get a good wine grape that would live here in the humidity of South Louisiana. He is survived by his wife Nancy of Lafayette, LA; one daughter, Karen Muller and husband Fred of Ashland, OR.; three sons, the oldest Eric, who moved to Lafayette to help care for him, his son Jim and wife Rachel Craig of Knoxville, TN, and son Garth and his girlfriend Andrea Corsick of Fort Bragg, CA, and two granddaughters, Amy and Eilene Muller. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his infant half-sister, Jane Hagerman. The family would like to express their special thanks and appreciation to Russell Hiltz, his devoted and dedicated nurse and caretaker, who was on call seven days a week for the last several years of his life. The family requests that visiting hours be observed on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 from 10:00 until the time of services, and will continue after the services until 1:00 pm at Delhomme Chapel of the Flowers in Lafayette. Memorial contributions may be made in the name of William L. Hagerman, Ph.D to Parkinson's Disease Foundation at 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY, 10018, or at www.pdf.org. Personal condolences may be sent to the Hagerman, Ph.D family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand DriveLafayette, is in charge of funeral arrangements.

William Lee Hagerman

November 16, 1925 - January 24, 2009