John E. "Jack" Hagey

1933 - 2007  (74 years)

• Name	John E. "Jack" Hagey
  Born	30 Jan 1933	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Name	Jack Hagey
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-101508
  Died	26 Mar 2007	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Person ID	I101508	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Dr. Joseph Gerald "Gerry" Hagey,   b. 28 Sep 1904, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 26 Oct 1988, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 84 years)
  Mother	Minota Margaret "Minnie" Weichel,   b. 13 Jun 1904, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 13 Sep 1965, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 61 years)
  Family ID	F40001	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  JOHN (JACK) HAGEY Jack Hagey was born into a family of achievers, people well used to the public limelight. How difficult then for this reserved and unassuming man to create a life that would become both deeply influenced by them, yet separate. He needed to find his own path. Jack's father, J. Gerald Hagey, was founding president of the University of Waterloo, a visionary who developed the country's first co-op university program. Jack's mother, Minota, was also an influential community member and there is a university residence named in her honour. Her father, William Weichel, was a member of provincial Parliament. 'In his own quiet way, he was quite the opposite of his father,' said Jack's wife, Barbara, of her unfailingly private husband. Jack was also honest, a kind man who preferred the relative obscurity of his accountancy practice to public life. Sister Anne Rektor, a Catholic nun, met Jack by happenstance in a parking lot one day when he was there with a mutual acquaintance. The two were introduced and there was an immediate rapport. As he worked his way through two years of cancer, Sister Anne helped him cope, though he wasn't Catholic. She laughs as she recalls how she referred to herself as 'Jack's nun.' 'He had a faith that was simple, singular and adherent,' she said. 'He lived his life so quietly.' She also remembered his humility, how he never boasted about his family background. Jack, the youngest of two boys, completed an undergraduate degree at Waterloo College, now part of Wilfrid Laurier University. He initially thought about a high school teaching career, but daughter Laura recalled that her father feared his small stature and boyish looks would make it difficult to gain the student's respect. He instead joined an accounting firm and completed his certified accountancy program, eventually entering a partnership. A man who preferred routine, Jack was a creature of habit and a logical thinker. He was also a man who thrived on work. 'He worked until he was 72, until he was diagnosed (with cancer),' said Laura. His devotion to the job paid off in professional and financial success, but Jack never desired the fancy cars or homes. Everything about him was modest. He just wanted to do well enough to care for his family, to leave them a healthy legacy. Laura describes her father as a people person, someone who liked to please others and would never offend. She didn't see him angry, never heard him swear. Jack and Barbara met on a blind date and though they hit it off, it would be a few years before Barbara completed her nursing training and returned from one year of working in Western Canada. They eventually grew serious and five years after first meeting, married Sept. 9, 1960, having two daughters, Laura and Margie. 'As a dad, we had a lot of fun together,' said Laura, a self-confessed tomboy who rode with her dad on his motorcycle, fished in ponds and convinced him to buy her boy's skates after her mother signed her up for figure skating. He was also an incurable 'gadget guy,' always looking forward to the next Canadian National Exhibition where he'd get the latest doodad. Laura said he'd play around with it then it would be relegated to a closet somewhere while he eagerly anticipated the next gadget. Jack also enjoyed the racetrack, Woodbine and Elmira, and he liked the casino, though he wasn't much of a gambler. Perhaps it was the excitement he was drawn to, something he avoided in his daily life. Laura said her dad wasn't the overtly emotional type. 'He was really a down-to-earth kind of man' but there was never any question he loved his family. Diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2005, doctors predicted he had one year but Jack managed to steal a second year through sheer determination and alternative remedies. He was practical, but also open minded. Sister Anne concluded her friend Jack was unique, someone who appreciated the 'tiniest little kindness' anyone did for him. Jack Hagey leaves behind his wife Barbara, daughters Laura and Margie and three grandchildren. The Record Newpaper, May 17, 2007

  
  

• Sources

  [S490] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - The Record (1994-March 2008), Obituary of John Hagey - May 17, 2007.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 30 Jan 1933 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 26 Mar 2007 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth