Anne Marie “Nancy” Wagner

Anne Marie “Nancy” Wagner, age 89, peacefully passed away on April 19th. Nancy was surrounded by family and the soft and melodic sounds of “Danny Boy.” Born on July 6, 1927, in Dublin Ireland, Nancy was one of five children of Joseph Murphy and Margaret “Mary” Kennedy. Nancy was a professionally trained actress and she played significant roles at both the Gaiety and Abbey theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Following the lead of her older brother, Sean, Nancy emigrated to the US in 1949 and one of her first stops was South Bend, Indiana and the University of Notre Dame where she served admirably as executive assistant to Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, Notre Dame’s 14th President. Nancy then traveled west to San Francisco where she worked as an executive assistant for United Airlines. Soon thereafter, Nancy married attorney Bruce D. Wagner in November of 1959 and they raised two sons, Stephen and Ronan and made their home in San Mateo. After settling in San Mateo, Nancy’s love and devotion to the theatre arts led to her twenty-five year involvement in community theatre with Hillbarn Theatre, Peninsula Children’s Theater and the formation of an acting and recital troupe known as “Wordplay.” Nancy’s benevolent and passionate spirit and ongoing commitment to charitable causes was remarkable. She was actively involved in ongoing fund-raising efforts on behalf of Medical Mission Sisters, The Heart Association and Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church. Nancy served as a lector at Saint Bartholomew’s for over twenty years and devoted countless hours to many ministries and charitable endeavors. Nancy is survived by her sons, Stephen, a trial attorney in San Luis Obispo; Ronan, a solar sales associate in San Jose; daughter-inlaw, Simone Wagner, a sales executive in Grover Beach; Granddaughter, Julia, a freshman at Mission College Catholic Preparatory School and sister-in-law and artist, Sheila Halligan Waltz, Aptos, CA. Nancy’s siblings; Sean, Joseph, James and Margaret “Peggy” Mueller predeceased her.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at noon at Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church, 600 Columbia Drive in San Mateo.