- Ph: 218-945-6194 | Fertile, MN 56540
Fair Meadow Home
First Rate Care
For your loved ones
It is our mission to help each resident reach and maintain their highest level of self-care and independence both physically and mentally.
Fair Meadow HomeIt is our mission to help each resident reach and maintain their highest level of self-care and independence both physically and mentally.
John Hagen
John was born in Fertile on April 8, 1925 to Lawrence and Bella Hagen. They had a family of 5 children with two daughters and three sons. John recently lost his older sister at the age of 98, but all the rest of his siblings are still living and are well into their 90s! They had their home in town.
John went to school here in Fertile where he played on both the basketball and football teams. He is also a life-long member of Concordia Lutheran Church.
When WWII began, John enlisted in the Navy. He left for basic training in April of 1942 at the age of 17. He served on the destroyer the USS Vammen in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. John was honorably discharged in 1946 as a Boatswain mate second class.
After the war, John returned to Fertile and met and married Mabel Smith. They were married for 69 years and lived in their home in Fertile until moving into Fair Meadow in August 2020. Mabel passed away a few months later. John has two children. His daughter Pat and son-in-law Duane live in Kenmore WA and his son Larry and daughter-in-law Debi live in Moorhead. He has six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
John owned Hagen Chevrolet in Fertile for many years. He won a number of awards for high sales and so John and Mabel were able to enjoy trips to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hawaii and Tahiti. Another highlight for John, was his trip on the Honor Flight in 2012. He traveled to Washington DC with a group of veterans. They spend the day touring many of the war memorials in the city. John was amazed with the many people who stopped them that day and thanked them for their service! John and Mabel also spent many winters in Texas.
John has always loved the outdoors. He was a fisherman and hunter. John also took a 4 mile walk every night after dinner no matter the weather! Now John enjoys nature shows and likes to read books about nature. Fertile has always been home to John and he loves to share stories and memories about people and times from Fertile's history. He's 97 years young with an amazing memory. He still enjoys life and shows no sign of slowing down!