Obituary of Ray C. Wagner

Funeral services for Ray Wagner, 89, of Lakefield, Minnesota, will be 2 pm, Friday, May 2, 2014 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lakefield. Visitation will begin at 5 pm Thursday with the family present from 5 - 7 pm at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Interment will be at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Lakefield. Ray Chester Wagner, the son of Rose (Seydel) and Charles Wagner, was born February 19, 1925 in Lakefield, Minnesota. He attended County School District #80 before attending Immanuel Lutheran School in Lakefield. He entered the US Army on November 8, 1943, serving as a paratrooper in Europe, where he received a Bronze Battle Star. Ray was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge, receiving a Purple Heart. He returned to the US on the Queen Mary, which was being used as a hospital ship. Ray received an Honorable Discharge on July 31, 1945. On September 2, 1946, Ray was united in marriage to Beverly Stedman at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lakefield. The couple made their home in rural Lakefield where they engaged in farming, which he truly loved. As a cattleman, he had a short horn herd in his early days and then switched to feeder cattle. Ray also loved raising working horses. He enjoyed bringing his wagon and a team of horses to community events and parades. Additionally, he enjoyed plowing and thrashing bees, and attending sprint car races. In later years, he and Beverly enjoyed traveling. Ray was a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lakefield, Minnesota, where he was confirmed on May 7, 1939. He was a life member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Ray passed away April 26, 2014 at the Veteran Affairs Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at eighty-nine years of age. He is survived by his wife, Beverly of Lakefield, Minnesota; son, Ray Junior Wagner (Donna); daughter, Judy (Carl) Olson; grandchildren, Mathew Bronstad, Janine Nelson, Gary Bronstad, Brenda (Brent) Moritz and Rick (Michelle) Bronstad and nine great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings, Holly (Bob) Brisbane, Ruth Angle, Charles Wagner, Carol Williams and Twylla (Kenny) Pederson; many nieces, nephews and other family. Ray was preceded in death by his parents, siblings, Ella, Clara, Martha, Rose, Erna, Frida, Harold, Willard, Wilda, Roy and Violet.