By Melissa Valerie
Horace Hagedorn, 89, the founder of the plant product Miracle Grow and patron to the University, died on Jan. 31 at his home in Sands Point on Long Island. The cause of death has not yet been released.
Hagedorn is known for his generous contributions to education as well as to numerous nonprofit organizations. One of his biggest donations was used to fund the renovation and reconstruction of Hagedorn Hall, which houses the School of Education and Allied Human Services.
Melissa Connolly, assistant vice president of University Relations, said throughout the years Hagedorn was a generous and supportive friend to the University and the entire Long Island community.
“Individuals like Mr. Hagedorn are rare and he will be very much missed by the Hofstra family,” Connolly said.
Hagedorn was born in Manhattan on March 18, 1915. He graduated with a degree in business from the University of Pennsylvania in 1936. His first wife Peggy Hagedorn died in 1984; and he married his second wife, Amy Maiello Hagedorn, a schoolteacher, after she placed a lonely hearts ad in the local paper.
Among Hagedorn’s many donations was a $1 million grant to neighboring Adelphi University. The grant was donated in support of an annual program promoting corporate social responsibility, something Hagedorn knew much about. The grant became the largest gift of a living individual in the school’s history. Aldephi showed their appreciation by designating their School of Business as the Hagedorn Hall of Enterprise.
In a statement released by Adelphi University on the passing of Hagedorn, he was refered to as “a model business and community leader.”
Hagedorn gave approximately $27 million to 330 organizations through the Amy and Horace Hagedorn Fund at the Long Island Community Foundation, which was created in 1995. Almost 90 percent of Hagedorn’s donations were Long Island based, where over 120 local groups received his continuous support.
Hagedorn also donated to Momma’s Inc. in Wantagh, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation in Garden City and Long Island Cares, which provides tons of food to the area each year.
Hagedorn is survived by his wife of 20 years, Amy Maiello Hagedorn, six children, four stepchildren, 22 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Horace Hagedorn´s donations helped renovate the building that houses the School of Education and Allied Human Services. (Harry Tanielyan/The Chronicle)