Mary Lourdes “Mary Lou” (Jaeger) Wagner passed away at home on Tuesday, May 24.  A funeral mass will be celebrated at St Anthony’s on June 6 at 10:30 am and Mary Lou will be buried next to her husband at Mt Calvary Cemetery in Dubuque. In keeping with her wishes, there will be no formal visitation, but the family will receive visitors at St. Anthony between 9:30 and 10:15 am before the funeral Mass.

Mary Lou, the daughter of Walter Frederick and Matilda (Van Duelman) Jaeger, was born on March 1, 1924 in Dubuque. She attended St. Anthony’s Grade School and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School and Bayless Business College. She worked at Nurre Glass and Pittsburgh Plate Glass in Dubuque until her marriage. She married John Anthony Wagner on July 9, 1947 and the couple moved from Dubuque to Clinton, Iowa, where her husband became a partner in Wagner Pharmacy. During their time in Clinton, Mary Lou and John had four children - John, Cindy, Paul, and Ann.  After the death of her husband in 1959, Mary Lou and her children returned to Dubuque.

She was a homemaker and a full-time mother until her youngest was old enough to attend school. She worked at several jobs before beginning a career as a teller at American Trust and Savings Bank. She was promoted within the bank and retired as an officer. Mary Lou’s most important vocations were being a wife and a mother. She shared her love of education with her children and all four became educators. John joined the faculty at Harvard and is now a Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. Cindy taught, coached, and worked as a vice principal at Wahlert Catholic High School. Paul taught and coached at Grinnell High School. Ann taught science in St. Francis, Minnesota.

 Mary Lou enjoyed watching sports, loved to read, cook, play Euchre, and garden. She cross stitched hundreds of blankets for babies in her extended family. She was a faithful member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Parish.

Mary Lou is survived by her children John (Lorraine Gudas) Wagner (New York City), Cindy Wagner (Dubuque), Paul (Jill) Wagner (Grinnell, Iowa), and Ann (John) Ackerman (Mounds View, Minnesota). She is also survived by five grandchildren (Gregory Wagner, Jason Wagner, Nicholas Wagner, Kathleen Ackerman, and Benjamin Ackerman) and six great grandchildren (Jaxon, Tyson, Cadence, Jennings, Evie, and Davis) as well as many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her brothers-in-law (Leo Wagner and Walter (Barbara) Wagner) and her sisters-in-law (Mary Ann Theisen, Dorothy Eisbach, and Helen O’Leary).

She was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings and their spouses Alvin (Kathleen), Leonard, Anne (John) Baron, Clarence, Robert, Helen, and Florence (James) McGuire.  She was also preceded in death by, her in-laws (George & Mary Wagner, Anthony & Shirley Wagner, Joseph & Monica Wagner, Alice Wagner, Donald Theisen, Mary Wagner, Merlin & Margaret Goerdt, Lee Eisbach, and Robert O’Leary).

Arrangements are being made through the Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Funeral Home and Crematory (https://www.egelhofsiegertcasper.com).

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hills and Dales, Stonehill Care Center, and St. Anthony Church.

The family would like to thank Dr. Ringold, Dr. Compton and their nurses for their care and kindness to Mary Lou over the years. Thanks to Dubuque Hospice for the compassionate care, they gave Mary Lou.