Larry D. Hagemeier

Larry Hagemeier passed away peacefully at home at age 86 surrounded by family and all their love on April 29th, 2023.

Larry is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Virginia, of Rochester, NY; son, Kirk (Tammy) Hagemeier of Centreville, Virginia; and daughter Kristin (Joseph) Fiannaca of Rochester, NY; five grandchildren, Carrie and Brayden Hagemeier of Centreville, Virginia; Ryan, Katie and Samantha Fiannaca of Rochester, NY.

Friends may call 4-7 pm Thursday, May 25th at Farrell-Ryan Funeral & Cremation Services 777 Long Pond Road. Funeral service at 10:00 am Friday, May 26th at Greece United Methodist Church 1924 Maiden Lane.

Larry was born in Sterling, Colorado on October 27, 1936. He spent his early years with his parents and grandparents residing in several states including Colorado, Illinois, and California before settling on a farm near Gordon, Nebraska. Larry loved living on a farm and helping his family with the livestock. During his free time he was involved in the local 4-H chapter in which he enjoyed showing his cows in the county fair. Being that he was an only child he happily spent a lot of time with his many dogs. Although living on the farm was a lot of hard work, Larry enjoyed running the combine during harvest seasons. In his later years he fondly recalled that he wouldn’t trade growing up on a farm for anything.

Larry went to a small rural school through middle school. In high school he was a varsity athlete lettering in football, basketball, and he was a sprinter on the track and field team. Additionally, as a guard on the basketball team he went twice to the state tournaments. He graduated from Gordon High School in 1954.

Larry attended Chadron State College where he majored in Chemistry, and minored in Physics and Biology. His freshman year he met the love of his life, Virginia, through mutual friends. Larry thought that Virginia would not go on a date with him and ultimately lost a fifty cent bet when she happily said “yes.” Larry and Virginia dated all through college. In his senior year he was elected Vice President of his class.

Larry pursued his Master’s degree in Chemistry and he attended the University of Nebraska for one year before being drafted into the Army. While he was in the army he served for two years at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. There he used his Chemistry background to test chemicals and evaluate their efficiency. Larry always said, “Everyone should serve at least one year in the service as they would learn discipline and leadership.”

While Larry was still in the service he and Virginia were married on June 19, 1960 and lived in Tooele, Utah. They eventually moved back to Lincoln, Nebraska where he obtained his Master’s degree in Chemistry, while Virginia taught in an elementary school. While living in Lincoln, Kirk was born.

In 1966 after multiple job offers scattered across the country, Larry accepted a position as a Research Chemist at Eastman Kodak and moved his family to Rochester, NY. Larry worked at Kodak Park for 29 years innovating color printing paper, and earning seven design patents. At Kodak he enjoyed the family friendly work atmosphere, played recreational softball and basketball, and made numerous life long friends. During this time Larry also worked as a Chemistry Lab instructor at SUNY Brockport.

Like many Kodak employees at the time he was attracted to the Rochester suburb of Greece. They built their first home in 1967 and shortly thereafter Kris was born. While raising the kids Larry was an extremely devoted father. He volunteered his time by coaching sports, assisting boy scouts, helping with school projects and being a member of the student advisory board. Family always came first and he attended all the kid’s activities.

Shortly after retiring from Eastman Kodak, Larry kept busy working with his son-in-law, Joe, as a payroll Distribution Specialist at USA Payroll. Being that it was a small start-up Payroll and Benefits company, Larry had a large influence collaborating on the design and flow of the packing room and processes. He worked there for twenty years and enjoyed carpooling with Joe and eventually Kris. Larry appreciated his time at USA Payroll because he felt he could make a bigger impact working for a small local business. Co- workers always found him very kind, friendly and approachable and enjoyed listening to his stories, life lessons, and wisdom.

In Larry’s retirement years he enjoyed watching college football and basketball, especially cheering on the Nebraska Cornhuskers with Virginia. He and Virginia also took several scenic vacations and cruises. However, their true passion was always supporting their five grandchildren and all their activities. They were blessed to be able to attend numerous sporting events, band and singing concerts, musicals, dance recitals, award ceremonies, birthday parties and graduations. Larry’s other hobbies included boating, fishing, photography, landscaping his yard, playing cards, bird watching, helping others fix things and drinking coffee with his family and many friends. He was simply the best husband, father and grandfather to us.

The Hagemeier and Fiannaca families would like to thank the Palliative Care Team from Rochester Regional Health who helped us navigate through this difficult process. Additionally we would like to thank our home health care team who loved us and supported us through our challenging moments. Our “angels” on earth, it was because of your hard work and above and beyond dedication that allowed us to fulfill Dad’s final wish to remain at home.

If you would like to donate in Larry’s memory, please consider donating to:

The RRH Palliative Care

https://www.rrhgive.org/giving

American Parkinson Association

www.apdaparkinson.org

Donations in Larry's honor can also be mailed directly to

Rochester Regional Health Palliative Care,

330 Monroe Ave, Suite 400

Rochester, NY 14607