Hager shared love of horses and serving posse

For more than 25 years, Timothy Hager carried his love of horses into a volunteer role of serving the residents of Steele County as a member of the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse.

Hager, 64, died unexpectedly on June 21 at his home in Medford.

During his tenure with the posse, Hager took part in training exercises, search and rescue missions and perhaps the largest activity, the Steele County Free Fair where posse members provide security.

“They have been very instrumental with the Steele County Free Fair and the after hours security,” said Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele of the posse. “Tim was not afraid to lend a helping hand and was very outgoing and always had a smile on his face. He was a big part of the posse.”

As a posse member, Hager trained with his horse to work around vehicles, loud noises and other obstacles, Thiele said. “The horses had to be trained to work around that kind of excitement,” he said, noting Hager was always there to be a part of the posse.

Hager was one of 20 posse members currently serving in Steele County. He was president, wagon master and took part in various posse activities throughout the year.

Thiele had just reached out to Hager within the past few weeks to see if he could use a photograph of Hager on his horse performing posse duties for publicity purposes. “He was excited and honored to be a part of it,” the sheriff said, adding Hager was proud to be a part of the sheriff’s office.

Besides serving on the posse, Hager was active in church and loved spending time with his grandkids and family, traveling, camping, snowmobiling and working on the farm. He most recently worked at Bauernfeind Goedtel in Faribault since 1993 where he was an estimator/project manager.

Hager is survived by his wife, Kathleen, two children and several grandchildren.

Funeral services were held June 27 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Medford.