Arlyss (Arlie) D. Hagen

Arlyss (Arlie) D Hagen was born on August 24 th 1933 to John S and Carrie Hagen in Hillsboro, KS. He was the youngest of eight children, five boys and three girls. He passed away on November 28 th , 2021 at the age of 88.

He attended school in Hillsboro, KS and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1951. He married Carol Jantz on October 26th, 1952. They started out their married life in Hillsboro, KS and later moved to Moundridge KS where they raised their three boys, Douglas, Gregory, and Brad.

At a young age, Arlie developed a love of music and began playing the trumpet.  He and his brother, Lewis, often played duets as they were growing up and later on, he and his two sons played trios in church. His love for music stayed with him the rest of his life and he was often heard humming a tune or, even more likely, whistling a tune. Hearing a song played on a trumpet always brought a smile to his face.

Arlie joined the Army on February 12, 1954. He was first stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky where he trained and graduated from the Radio School with a rating of Superior. He was latter stationed in Germany when their first son was very young.

At an early age he worked at the family gas station, he made rural deliveries when he was able to drive the delivery truck. Upon moving to Moundridge, KS, he worked at Hesston Corp in Hesston, KS. During these years it was also common for Arlie to be behind the wheel of an eighteen-wheeler in his off hours, hauling various loads of cargo. He hauled for Groendyke Transport, Safeway and the Wichita Eagle. He moved on to working at Cities Service in Hutchinson, KS for many years unloading tanker trucks. They moved to Garden City and once again he was behind the wheel of delivery trucks hauling feed to the local feedlots.

In 1986 Arlie and Carol purchased a second home in Alpine CO. A little cabin in the mountains nicknamed “Jumping Waters” because of the rushing mountain stream that ran right by the cabin. Many wonderful memories were made there for the Hagen family as the cabin was where they gathered for family fun. Arlie had a love of trout fishing in the beautiful mountain streams and provided many wonderful fish dinners for his whole family.

Outdoor activities were always a top priority for Arlie and Carol. Gardening, landscaping, and entertaining in their backyard were things they loved doing together. Water skiing was also an activity they enjoyed with their family. They loved hiking, 4 wheeling, including any kind of mountain adventure and they raised their boys to love all of those things from the time they were little. They would head out on family vacations, always to the mountains, in their station wagon with all three boys dressed alike in new shorts and shirts ready for adventure.

Arlie was meticulous about the care of his vehicles, his home, his yard, and the organization of his garage. You could literally “eat off the floor” of his garage. He always had a comb in his back pocket and a pocket knife in his front pocket.

In 1990, Arlie and Carol retired and their dream of living in CO became a reality.  They were then able to enjoy all of the great outdoors for the next 25 years.  During retirement Arlie worked part time for the Lewis-Palmer school district as a school bus driver where he enjoyed all of the antics of the kids that rode on his bus. He also drove buses to take firemen in to fight fires in the Colorado forests during the summers. It gave him great pleasure to know that he could help in this cause.

For the last 5 years Carol and Arlie lived in the Kansas City area. Carol was a loving caregiver to Arlie who struggled with mobility in his latter years. On October 24th, 2021 Carol passed away unexpectedly and Arlie lost not only his dedicated caregiver but the love of his life.

Arlyss is survived by his sons Douglas and wife Maria of Monument CO, Gregory and wife Sue of Kansas City MO, Bradley and wife Maribel of Buda TX.

Six grandchildren, Carie Hannan and husband Luke, Travis Hagen and wife Alyssa, Stefan Hagen and fiancé Bethany Ward, Justin Hagen and wife Kate, Bella Hagen, and Levi Hagen. Six great grandchildren McKenna, Dylan, and Maeve Hannan, Millie, Jolie, and Leonard Hagen. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Carrie Hagen, his four brothers Winfred, Edwin, Howard, and Lewis, his three sisters, Verna Suderman, Ella Hefley, and Clara Schellenberg.

Memorials established in memory of Arlyss at Kansas City Hospice House, 12000 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64145.