HAGNER, DONALD B.

Donald B. Hagner of Kenmore, a former dairyman and Marine Corps combat veteran, died Monday [February 8, 2010] in the hospice unit of Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Town of Tonawanda, after a brief illness. He was 86.

Raised and educated in Buffalo, he enlisted in the Marines in 1943 and was assigned to an elite fighting unit, the Marine Raiders of the 6th Marine Division.

He earned numerous military commendations for combat in the South Pacific, including battles in Bougainville, Okinawa and Guam, and for taking part in the occupation of Japan.

After the war, he helped run a Buffalo dairy business, the Peter Hagner Dairy on Main Street, which was started by his father, Peter Hagner, in 1904. The Hagner family sold the business in the 1960s, and Mr. Hagner worked for other dairy companies until 1973.

He then worked as a mason at Buffalo State College until his retirement in 1988.

Mr. Hagner enjoyed woodworking and was a Buffalo Bills fan. He was a life member of the Masons and a member of Harry E. Crosby Post 2472, Veterans of Foreign Wars; the U.S. Marine Raider Association; and the U.S. Marine 6th Marine Division Association.

He and his wife, the former Irene N. Negley, would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Thursday.

Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Corrine O”Reilly and Diane Truesdell; two sons, Peter and Donald N.; and two sisters, Florence Mc-Donald and Audrey Reinhold.

A memorial service will be at 10 a. m. today in Kenmore United Methodist Church, 32 Landers Road.