Bill Hagerup

William (Bill) Carl Hagerup (of Bloomingdale, IL) passed away peacefully after a 40 year battle with Parkinson’s disease on July 21, 2022. Bill was a member of First Congregational (UCC) Church of Glen Ellyn IL.

Bill was born March 30, 1953 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to the late Paul and Marilyn Hagerup. Bill lived in Grand Rapids and later East Grand Rapids and graduated from East Grand Rapids High School. He attended Michigan State University and earned a degree in Advertising. His first job was at the Green Bay Press Gazette. Following that, Bill worked at several advertising agencies in the Chicago area including Marsteller Inc, BBDO, and Jack Levy Associates. Notably, Bill did advertising for Pizza Hut, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Case Tractor Co. and the Shure microphone company. Bill won several awards including a bronze medal from the New York Film Festival. People who knew him enjoyed his dry wit and willingness to play a song for them on his guitar.

Music was always at the forefront of Bill’s life. In high school, he led a popular band as the lead guitarist. Bill formed another band in college and eventually, passed down his love of music and excellent writing skills to his two daughters, Cheney and Isabel. Bill was also an artist and often blended his creativity into his music and work in advertising.

Bill was a good basketball player in high school, and he had a passion for golf. He played golf whenever and wherever he could, rain or shine. If the sun came out and it was over forty degrees, Bill was out there swinging. He played well into the later stages of his Parkinson’s disease even when he could barely walk or talk.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and step-father, Lloyd Heibel. He is survived by his ex-wife, Susan Smith Hagerup (Mark) Rosenbaum (of Oak Park IL), daughters Cheney and Isabel Hagerup (of North Hampton, MA), his brother, Jim (Cindy) Hagerup (of Grand Rapids MI), his aunt, Eleanor Hagerup (of IL), his Aunt Gwyn Bersie (of IL), several cousins, nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held prior to the funeral at Ada Bible Church (3869 Knapp St. NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49525) August 3, 2022 at 10 AM. Funeral will follow at 11:00 AM.

Contributions in his honor may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation: https://www.parkinson.org

To read more about Bill’s life, visit Life Story https://heritagelifestory.com/obituaries/bill-hagerup.140673