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In Memoriam
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Edward J. Wagner
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6/25/2024
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Edward Wagner Obituary
October 10,1938 - June 25, 2024|Little Compton, R.I. - Despite the dedicated, determined and valiant efforts of the Little Compton Fire Department, Ned Wagner, age 85, a longtime resident of Little Compton, passed away from cardiac arrest on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
A survivor of childhood polio and most recently having fought prostate cancer to a stand-still for over seven years with the expertise and professionalism of his doctors and staff at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Providence, RI and the VA clinic in Middletown, RI -- what didn't kill Ned made him stronger, forging his faith and positive attitude, hardening his abundance of Irish-German American stubbornness and grit. Self-deprecating, however, Ned would simply state he was "too stupid" to know he should be dead.
Ned was born on October 10, 1938 to Roseann Clark Wagner and Carl Edward Wagner then of Brockton, Massachusetts. Growing up in Brockton watching Rocky Marciano regularly run by his childhood home, Ned was a graduate of Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, Massachusetts and Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts, he attended his beloved alma mater Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont and served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1963.
Ned was a devoted Catholic and American patriot, who while serving in the Army, carried with him a prayer from his mother "Sweet Holy Ghost give me the gifts of Wisdom and Fortitude, Our Father, Hail Mary, Gloria" and the quote of Commodore Stephen Decatur "Our country! … may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!"
After his military service Ned followed his grandfather's footsteps to Wall Street, having an illustrious career in finance, variously working for PaineWebber, Brown Brothers Harriman and Deutsche Bank.
Ned was predeceased by the love of his life, Judith (Dolan) Wagner, his sophisticated and globetrotting wife of forty-two years who passed away suddenly in 2018 and whose reunion he has long craved and prayed for.
When not absorbing Judy's total love, following Judy to exotic locales or devouring Judy's signature gourmet meals and incredible apple pies, Ned relished talking and spending time with friends and family. Ned continually consumed books, especially regarding the outdoors, military history, Knights Templars and prose of Robert W. Service. He also loved spending his leisure time with his numerous canines, watching the ocean, football and TV shows NCIS and Navy SEALs, skeet shooting, fishing for stripers or salmon, presenting flies to trout, hunting or observing wary black ducks in the surf off Little Compton, whitetails in Vermont, elk in Colorado or caribou and brown bear in Alaska. He also enjoyed teaching children while serving as a docent at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Ned is survived by his sister Janet Wagner Latham and her husband Brad of Reading, Massachusetts and his brothers, Robert Wagner and his wife Donna of Whitman, Massachusetts and William Wagner and his wife Elizabeth of Milton, Massachusetts, nephews Mark Sergi of Tampa, Florida, Christopher Latham and his wife Michelle of Rowley, Massachusetts, Joshua Latham and his wife Jamie of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Eric Wagner and his wife Tricia of Wall, New Jersey, John Latham and his wife Melissa of Fremont, New Hampshire, and Mr. & Mrs. Zachary Wagner of Abington, Massachusetts and nieces Maryann Sergi Taylor of Daniel Island, South Carolina, Patricia Sergi Duty of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Suzanne Sergi Murphy of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Jessica Wagner of Abington, Massachusetts, Stephanie McCusker of Plymouth, Massachusetts and Gretchen Wagner of Milton, Massachusetts, great nieces Charlotte Latham, Sophia Rose Latham, Molly Murphy, Ava Latham, Ella Sergi, Maya McCusker and Elizabeth Latham and great nephews Brandon Duty, Joshua Duty, Tim Taylor, Ryan Duty, Bradley Latham, Connor Wagner, Alec Sergi, Grant Latham, Harrison Latham, and Maverick Brown. In addition to Ned's parents he was also predeceased by his sister, Maryann (Wagner) Sergi and her husband Dr. Arthur (Bing) Sergi, formerly of Duxbury, Massachusetts.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, 11:00 AM, at St. Catherine of Siena Church, 74 Simmons Road, Little Compton, RI. Burial will be private. All friends are welcome to attend a collation for Ned at 12:00 noon at St. Catherine of Siena Church hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ned's memory may be made to: Stay At Home In Little Compton Inc., P.O. Box 353, Little Compton, RI 02837, https://www.stayathomeinlittlecompton.org/how-to-donate , Little Compton Fire Department, 60 Simmons Rd. Little Compton RI 02837 or Gary Sinise Foundation, P.O. Box 40726, Nashville, TN 37204, https://donate.garysinisefoundation.org/campaign/day-of-giving-2024/c586633
Arrangements by Fern Acres Funeral Home. To send condolences please visit, www.FernAcresFuneralHome.com. |
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In Memoriam
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Nicholas R. Spagnoli
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6/25/2024
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Nicholas R. Spagnoli of Huntington Beach, CA, passed into eternal life on June 25th, 2024 surrounded by family, holy angels, and saints. He was 87.
Nick is survived by Trudi, his beloved wife of 61 years; his three children, Debbie, Kim (Alex Kim), and Nick (Ann Thornton); and his adored grandson, Sam. Nick is also survived by his brothers, William Spagnoli and Barry Spagnoli (Joanne), and sister-in-law Wanda Lastra.
Nick was born on August 6, 1936 (The Feast of the Transfiguration) in Orange, New Jersey to Nicholas Spagnoli and Annette (Manna) Spagnoli. Nick grew up in Orange and would later say upon reflection, "I have extremely fond memories of my growing up years. We grew up poor, but never realized it. We had clothes and food. Baseballs and footballs. We had no idea how the rest of the world lived. My world was happy and uncomplicated."
Nick is a beloved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, papa, friend, boss, colleague, teammate, and all-around good guy. Nick earned admiration and respect by walking the walk; by living what he preached and what he believed with deeds and action rather than talk. He believed that family and fatherhood are the foundation of society, that loyalty and relationships matter immensely and should be nurtured, and that we should all carry peace in our hearts and in our families, especially after disagreements. He excelled in sports and built life-long friendships. His generosity was boundless. He was the go-to guy who delivered when it mattered, whether that be a winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, results in the boardroom, or answering the call whenever a friend or family member needed advice or help.
A consummate leader and gentleman, Nick possessed a combination of old-school charm, good looks, wisdom, and intellect. An astute judge of character learned from growing up in Orange, he also knew how to land on his feet after a setback.
A competitive athlete his entire life, "Spags" was an unlikely (size-wise) star quarterback, calling the shots and successfully directing his high school and college teams to some of their best seasons ever. He also lettered in both high school and college baseball, playing shortstop.
He graduated from Orange High School, attended Massanutten Military Academy, and graduated from Norwich University, the oldest private and senior military college in the United States. Nick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and graduated with the class of 1959. Nick credited his mother and father's support for making it through his freshman year.
Nick served as an Officer, Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and was honorably discharged from Fort Knox in 1959. He joined the sales and marketing team at Remington-Rand in New York shortly thereafter and quickly earned Salesman of the Year. He was promoted to National Sales and Marketing Manager where he remained for 10 years.
Nick met Trudi, the love of his life, in Spring Lake, NJ. Two years later, they married and were soon blessed with three children, Debbie, Kim, and Nick. Together, Nick and Trudi have enjoyed an amazing 61 years of married life. They moved quite often due to Nick's varied career positions, from New Jersey to West Virginia to Missouri, back to New Jersey, to Illinois to California to Connecticut, and then finally to Huntington Beach, California where they've lived for nearly 30 years.
While Nick was Trudi's rock, Nick and Trudi together provided a safe space within their family for their children. Nick was a father figure to many of his children's friends, and a brother to Trudi's sister, who named her son after him.
What Nick learned on the athletic fields - team work, discipline, and determination - he applied in the corporate arena with great success. Nick excelled at turning around a variety of under-performing companies, including Gulton Battery Corp., Saft America, Burgess, Inc., Ducommun Metals, and Bekins International. Nick was also an entrepreneur, starting Transfer Planning and DNK Associates, companies that specialized in industrial location planning for foreign corporations. His last company before retiring was U.S. Chrome, where he first served as CEO of the corporation and later as the General Manager of the Long Beach plant.
Nick was inducted into Norwich's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999, where in typical humble fashion, he thanked his teammates and coaches, sharing the credit with those around him. He was grateful to the University that strove not only to educate but also to build character and instill discipline upon its students. He took all of these lessons and its foundation with him and applied them with great success to each business and family environment.
After retirement, Nick enjoyed golfing, working out, dinners with Trudi, calls and visits with his kids, brothers, and friends, golfing trips with his high school pals, watching the NY Giants and Yankees, and reading as much as he could. He enjoyed hanging out with his golfing buddies, the Seacliff Firemans' Golf Group, and happily accepted their accolades after sinking two hole-in-ones in his 80's.
The most important and cherished role that Nick had was as head of his family. His family was his life, and providing for and loving them is what motivated his actions and decisions. It was his proudest accomplishment. He was happiest sitting around the dinner table with his family - eating, drinking wine, talking sports, debating politics, philosophizing, and playing games. Nick provided strength, calm steadiness, encouragement, and words of wisdom. Most importantly, he gave unconditional love and instilled the confidence in his children to believe that they could do anything they set their minds to.
In 2017, Nick was blessed with a grandson, Sam. Papa and Sam had a special relationship and shared many common traits. Nick treasured every moment he could get with Sam, whether over Facetime or in person.
This past year was challenging in a new way for Nick and his family due to medical issues. Throughout this difficult time, Nick continued to inspire and teach us how to deal with extreme adversity with grace, strength, and dignity.
May you now rest in peace, Nick/Dad. You are always in our hearts.
The Spagnoli family invites and welcomes all to memories of Nick, whether in writing, a short video clip, or in person.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in the name of Nick Spagnoli may be made to St. Vincent de Paul Church, 8345 Talbert Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92646 https://membership.faithdirect.net/CA1006 |
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