Peter A. Hagen, of New Marlborough, passed Tuesday, November 4, 2025, after a long illness.
Peter has been a New Marlborough resident and homeowner since 1983. He was born in 1945 in Staten Island, N.Y., a son of Paul and Marion (Creigh) Hagen. After graduating high school, he went on to receive a B.S. in marketing from Saint Peter’s University in New Jersey.
Pete acquired a position at Western Electric and later transferred to AT&T and enjoyed a 36-year career, retiring as a marketing manager. After retiring, he worked part time as a facilities manager for the Lord Sterling School in Basking Ridge, N.J., for 10 years.
As a boy, Pete spent his summers on Lake Buel in the cabin his dad built. In 1984, he and his wife Cathy purchased their own lake-front home. In 2004, with the help of family and friends, he began the construction of a new home where everyone still gathers today. Some of the happiest times on the lake for Pete were spent teaching his children and grandchildren and their friends how to water ski and tube. He was a great teacher.
Pete was a communicant of Saint Peter’s Church in Great Barrington, a former chairperson of the Lake Buel District Prudential Committee, and a member of the Knights of Columbus. he was also a catechist for five years at Our Lady of the Mountain in Long Valley, N.J.
Pete was an outdoorsman who traveled cross-country in his younger years, fishing and hunting. He enjoyed traveling with his wife and discovered new relatives in Ireland; circled Sicily; and visited Canada, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Belgium.
Pete was intelligent and a man of many talents. He was a great friend and always willing to help others. You could ask Pete anything, on any topic, and he always knew something about it. If you presented a problem, he always had a resolution or at the very least, the right tool for the job. He was industrious and hard working and taught his children how to be responsible and self-sustaining.
Pete is survived by his wife of 42 years, Catherine (Vacante) Hagen; three sons, Christopher Hagen, Clifford Hagen and wife Kathleen, and John Cirago and wife Marissa; his daughter Elise Conway and her husband Richard; his brother Paul Hagen; 11 grandchildren, Christopher (Angie), Jaime (Connor), Henry, Jason, Madeline, Kellen, Justin, Julianna, Kate, Erin, and Emily; one great-grandson, Peter; and many nieces and nephews. Pete was predeceased by his youngest son, Peter N. Hagen; his brother Kevin Hagen; and his sister Ellen McDermott (Mac).
A Funeral Mass for Peter A. Hagen will be held on Saturday, December 6, at 10 a.m., at Saint Peter’s Church, 213 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA, with Reverend William P. Murphy, pastor, officiating. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in Pete’s memory may be made to the Phelps Cancer Center, 165 Tor Court, Pittsfield, MA 01201, or New Marlborough Fire & Rescue, P.O. Box 99, Mill River, MA 01244, in care of the Birches-Roy Funeral Home, 33 South St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Condolences may be made through the funeral home’s website.
