Karl F. Nagel

Karl F. Nagel, of Lake Forest, IL, passed away peacefully on August 18, 2022. He was 84. Mr. Nagel lived life to the fullest, on his own terms as a visionary. He was deeply dedicated to his family, friends, community, and country. Nagel was born on Feb. 17, 1938, in Highland Park, IL, the son of European immigrants, Karl Nagel and Cecilia Studena. He grew up in Lake Forest, attended Lake Forest High School, and Knox College, where he met Barbara Fowler. The couple married in 1959. In 1960, he graduated with a BA in Economics and an ROTC commission, and then joined the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. He completed training in Fort Benning, GA, achieving the elite status of Airborne Ranger, which took him and his young family to Germany for an assignment overseas. Returning to civilian life in 1964, he moved back to the Lake Forest area starting a dynamic real estate career. In the early 1970s while on a business trip to Texas, Nagel learned of the mini-warehouse concept. Finding it to be an interesting niche in the real estate sector, he pioneered this concept and built the first self-storage facility in Illinois in 1973. Nagel went on to develop and acquire millions of square feet of self-storage through various forms of syndications. The company continues today, branded as Metro Self Storage, and is recognized as one of the oldest and largest self-storage companies in the industry. Nagel’s greatest passions were upland game hunting, fishing, and riding his appaloosas western style through the forests. He had an amazing sixth sense with animals and having been certified in the Parelli Method — was a horse whisperer in his own right. The Nagels moved to the Village of Mettawa in 1983, where they lived for the next 30 years. The 16-acre property was called “Bent Tree Farm,” as it was the site of one of the only registered Native American Indian Trail Bent Trees in all of Lake County. Nagel cared about the communities he lived in and took instrumental roles in preserving their futures. As a trustee for the Village of Mettawa for 20 years, he was influential in Costco receiving approval to be built there. He served on the Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital board for 9 years and played a significant role in building the Lake Forest Health & Fitness Center. When it was rumored that Lake Forest’s Gorton Community Center was to be torn down in the early 70’s, he answered a request to join the board to save the building where he had once attended school. As president of the Rotary Club, Nagel was a regular fixture at their community breakfasts and welcomed students from the Rotary exchange program into his home. Nagel is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Barbara, his three children, Matthew (Janet) Nagel, Blair Nagel, and Joy (Mark) McGreevy, and his adored seven grandchildren, Greta, Mercedes and Vicente Nagel, Karl and Jenna Nagel, Austin and Bridget McGreevy, and also by his older sister, Ruth Laehr of Pensacola, FL. Private services are being planned. Memorial donations may be made to Gorton Community Center https://gortoncenter.org/donations/ For more information, contact Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Directors of Lake Forest (847) 234-9649 or www.RTfunerals.com.

Karl F. Nagel

February 17, 1938 - August 18, 2022