Joan E. Wagner

Joan E. Wagner (June 8, 1933 - December 25, 2014) Joan E. Wagner age 81 of Alexandria passed away peacefully on December 25, 2014. Her sharp wit, twinkling eyes, generous nature and unfailing competence will be deeply missed by her family and friends. Joan was born on June 8, 1933 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the beloved daughter and only child of Chester and Evelyn (Loegering) Anderson. Joan grew up in south Minneapolis near Lake Calhoun, graduating from West High School in 1951. Following high school graduation, Joan pursued the nursing career that came so naturally to her caring spirit and matter-of-fact approach to life by graduating from the Swedish Hospital School of Nursing in the Class of 1954. Joan was united in marriage to Charles “Charlie” Wagner on May 21, 1955. Despite working full time, the newlyweds personally built their own home in the woods near Mahtomedi, where they raised two boys, Tom and Dan. Joan spent the core of her nursing career as a surgical nurse at the Charles T. Miller Hospital in St. Paul, where she specialized in eye surgery. Joan’s career paused in 1976 when the family moved to Alexandria to own and operate the Valhalla Resort on Lake Darling but she soon renewed her commitment to nursing and worked at Douglas County Hospital until her retirement at the end of 1994. Retirement was rarely idle as Joan’s loving care of family and a menagerie of pets was accompanied by a voracious appetite for books, gardening, sewing, and cooking. Preceded in death by husband of 57 years Charles and also by many beloved pets. Survived by sons Tom (Rebecca) Wagner and Dan Wagner; grandchildren Ryan (Salwa), Andrew and Joseph Wagner; great granddaughter Annabelle Wagner; aunt Eppie Laura Gaynes with whom she shared an exceptional bond and special family friend Jason Westin. Visitation for family and friends begins at 9:30 am, with a memorial service at 10:30 am on Saturday, January 3, 2015 at Anderson Funeral Home, in Alexandria, MN. Services will be followed by inurnment at Kinkead Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the Lakes Area Humane Society, 3811 Nevada Ave. Alexandria, MN. 56308