Joseph "Sunny" Hager

To watch the live stream of the service on Monday starting at 10:00, click here https://www.facebook.com/CorpusBismarck/

Joseph “Sunny” Hager, 87 passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 at CHI St. Alexius Medical Center with his family by his side, from complications due to a gallbladder infection.

Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, 2020 at Corpus Christi Church, 1919 N 2^nd St, Bismarck. Burial will take place at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan, North Dakota. The service will be livestreamed, visit the funeral home website for more information. Masks are required.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.  Sunday, Nov. 15 at Parkway Funeral Service 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, with a vigil/prayer Service beginning at 7 p.m. Masks are required.

Joseph was born March 3, 1933 in Strasburg, the twelfth  of 13 children born to Joseph and Margaret (Baumgartner) Hager. He attended a one room schoolhouse in Strasburg.  Joseph went to work on the farm at a young age after his dad passed away. He enjoyed farming, soon though, he was drafted by the United States Army and served in Germany during the Korean War.  Upon his honorable discharge he returned to Strasburg, where he worked with his siblings on their farms.

 While attending a dance in Linton, he met his bride to be, Katherine “Katie” Deisz.  They were married on May 21, 1956.  They made their home in Bismarck where Sunny worked in the construction and concrete finishing business.  He worked for several different companies, including Froehlich and Sons Construction, Capital City Construction and Harold Bauer Concrete.  He was also the founder and co-owner of Metric Construction.  He retired in the early 2000’s, only to often be found watching others pour and finish concrete, offering advice and helping when he could.

He was a 50-year member of Eagle’s Club, where he loved playing cards with friends. He was also a member 50-year member of the Bismarck VFW and the Carpenters Union.  He and Katie were charter members of Corpus Christi Church.  Sunny could fix anything and took pride in having a beautiful lawn, spending time to make sure there wasn’t a leaf or blade of grass out of place.

Joseph is survived by his wife of 64 years, Katie; children, Brenda (Curt) Janssen, Linda (Randy) Kleinjan, Joe Hager and Lori (Grant) Caya; grandchildren, Bill Wrigley (Lyndsey), Katie (Nick) Wiedrich, Brent (Kaara) Kleinjan, Bryan Kleinjan, Jordan (Karly) Kleinjan and Lee (Katie) Mittelstadt; 10 great-grandchildren with one more on the way; sisters, Helen Bachmeier, Irene Heidrich and Carol Herner and numerous nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Margaret and siblings, Katherine Welk, Julia Feist, Mary Zacher, Barbara Silbernagel, Alice Heidrich, Pius Hager, Andy Hager, Eddie Hager and an infant sister.    

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, 1825 46th St, Mandan, ND 58554 or to the charity of donor’s choice.