Mary Wagner

WAGNER, Mary Deane Vande Steeg, age 94, was born on October 24, 1928, in Orange City, Iowa. She was the daughter of Arthur and Ruth (Gunderson) Vande Steeg. Growing up she helped her father in his business, the Vande Steeg Department Store, by clerking and candling eggs. She began playing violin in the Sioux City Symphony in high school. She also played in the Northern Kentucky Symphony, Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra, was Concert Master of the Cincinnati Music Theatre, and played in many musicals preformed in the city. She was a graduate of Orange City High School and received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa University. She was given a full scholarship to McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and graduated with a degree in Christian Education. Mary taught drama and English at Amelia High School in Amelia, Ohio. She also taught Spanish and French at Indian Hill High School and Xavier University in Cincinnati. Mary married Jack Wagner, a fellow musician, in 1994. They were happily married for 29 years.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Charlotte, and her nephew Carl Coffin. She is survived by her husband, Jack; a stepdaughter, Diane Sheridan Ulm; granddaughter Keely (Jason) Tuttle; Jack’s children, John (Joyce) Wagner and their children, Abby and Jack, and Jack’s daughter, Jeanne.

Mary passed away on Sunday, November 20, 2022.

Friends may visit with the family on Friday, November 25, 2022 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 106 Maple St., Reading, OH 45215 from 10:30am until time of service at 11am.

Burial will follow in Rest Haven Memorial Park.