Obituary
William Robert Hagn, affectionately called Bill, Doc, or Bones, of N. Ft. Myers, FL, passed away peacefully with his family by his side at Hope Hospice in Cape Coral, FL, on Saturday, August 14, 2021. He was 68 years young, but went to be with the Lord after a 2.5 year fight with cancer.
He was born on July 2, 1953, in the Army Hospital on Fort Jackson base, Columbia, South Carolina. When William’s father, Robert Hagn, was discharged from the military, the family moved to Illinois. This is where he spent his childhood. In 1968, William’s parents decided to take him and his three siblings to Pompano Beach, FL where he was a star football player on his high school team. William was an Army veteran, serving from 1973-1974 during the Vietnam War where he was deployed to Korea. When he returned home in 1975, he led some military summer camps. Later, he became a first responder working as a firefighter, paramedic and EMT.
He attended Texas Chiropractic College in Pasadena, TX, where he graduated in 1984 with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He opened his own practice in Ft. Myers, FL, called Riverdale Chiropractic, where he cared for thousands of patients for more than 30 years. Many people knew him as “Doc.”
William was actively involved in his community. Throughout the early 2000’s, he tamed and trained wild horses at private residences in N. Ft. Myers. He also sponsored local 4-H youth members for many, many years. This allowed kids to raise and sell pigs at the local fairgrounds. When William’s son, Billy Hagn, was a kid, he coached the Buckingham Little League and his business, Riverdale Chiropractic, sponsored the team.
Also known as “Bones”, William was a founding member of one of Florida’s first organized paintball teams, Dorsai (1986). He most recently played for the Trespassers and Coalition. In 2008, he starred as a captain for one of the Scenario Paintball teams at Camp Miles. Competing in a new series, “Adventure Man”, this special media televised event was played on Discovery Channel. More information can be found at: http://www.paintballpartyz.com/bigfoot-after.html.
William was also a member of the Hansen Range & Gun Club in Punta Gorda, Florida. He spent many Sundays there shooting with his buddies and competing in tournaments. After he “retired”, he became an ESE teacher. He was heavily involved in the Special Olympics and the district special needs track meet every year. He has been a member of Tice and the Shores Lodge No. 1297 Loyal Order of Moose since 1989. And if all that wasn’t enough, he added flying to his bucket list. A few years ago, he began training and studying to become a pilot. He earned his pilot’s license and completed many flights out of Punta Gorda Airport.
William loved playing and watching sports. He was a HUGE Florida Gator fan! As a kid he lived in Chicago and loved the Chicago Cubs. His father was a huge Cubbies fan as well! He was a big NASCAR fan, Kyle Busch, Richard Petty, and Terry Labonte being some of his favorites. He also enjoyed playing softball as a kid. Later in life he picked up the game of pickle ball and played weekly with his beloved girlfriend, Diane, and friends in his Tara Woods Community.
He loved all things planes, trains, and automobiles (both real and drone). He had many collectibles that had been passed down from his dad and granddad. He enjoyed anything adventurous, from scuba diving 150 feet below sea level into shipwrecks with his daughter, Molly, to skydiving 13,000 feet in the air with his son, Billy. He took his granddaughter, Mila, surfing in Hawaii just two years ago.
He was extremely competitive. In addition to playing paintball games and participating in shooting range competitions, William liked camping, kayaking, four-wheeling, and hiking. On multiple occasions, he spent a few weeks at a time trekking through the Everglades on his own. He loved boating and all things watersports. When his children were growing up, they spent their weekends on the river, tubing, jet skiing, and wakeboarding. During the summer, they would take an annual family trip to the Florida Keys to go lobstering, fishing, and scuba diving.
He was a vegetarian and exercised daily, always taking care of himself. His passion for running, biking, and kayaking led him to compete in triathlons where he won 1st place several times! He also loved his Jameson Whisky and enjoyed Busch and Bud Light.
William leaves behind his brother, Gerome “Jerry” Hagn (Joann) of Gulf Breeze, FL; sister, Linda Hagn Owings (Tim) of Austin, TX; daughter, Elizabeth Molly Williams-Hagn (Mateo Cadena Gomez) and granddaughters, Camila and Isabella Cadena Gomez, all of Palm Harbor, FL; son, William “Billy” Hagn Jr. (Savanah Dawson) of Jacksonville, NC; brother-in-law, Mark Berlin of Trinity, FL and niece, Nicole Berlin of St. Petersburg, FL; and wonderful girlfriend, Diane Gibson or N. Fort Myers, FL.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Hagn and Elizabeth (Woodburn) Hagn, sister, Susan “Sue” Berlin and granddaughter, Carolina “Lina” Cadena Gomez.
Throughout William’s life, of all the things he had enjoyed, accomplished, and achieved, it was spending time with his family that he loved the most. He especially loved shooting with his son, Billy, and spoiling his daughter and two granddaughter’s aka “Grampy’s Girls.”
William will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Leave a reply