Bobbie Baker Wagner

*Please note, in response to Hurricane Helene, Mrs. Wagner’s funeral services will now take place at 11:00 am next Saturday, October 5, 2024. Visitation will be held from 6:00-8:00 pm on Friday, October 4.

Bobbie Baker Wagner, 86, of Newberry, died September 23, 2024 at Prisma Health Richland Hospital.

 Born on November 18, 1937 in Opp, Alabama, she was a daughter of the late William Wesley and Marie Sasnett Baker. Mrs. Wagner received her undergraduate degree from Troy State Teachers College, her Masters degree from Florida State University, and her Masters plus Thirty from Winthrop College. She was a retired school music teacher, and taught in the Laurens County School District and the Newberry County School District. She was the director of high school choirs in Clinton, Whitmire and Newberry. Mrs. Wagner was a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church where she served faithfully as the church organist for 45 years. She was a member of the Order of the Daughters of the King and helped with the Summer Arts Program. She was a member of the ECW and she and her husband served as delegates to numerous church conventions. Mrs. Wagner was a member of the Literary Study Club of Newberry, the Music Club of Newberry, and was a charter member of the Newberry Community Orchestra. She was an avid gardener, and later in life she and her husband, John, enjoyed traveling to Europe, Turkey, and French Polynesia.

 She is survived by her husband of nearly 64 years, John Waldorf Wagner; sons, Benjamin Baker Wagner and his wife Christy of Gainesville, GA; and Daniel Andrew Wagner of Easley; two grandchildren, John Phillips Wagner of Atlanta and Hannah Grace Wagner of Gainesville, GA; a brother-in-law, Robert Brewer of Oklahoma; two sisters-in-law, Janet Giunta and husband Joe of Beaufort and Margaret “Peggy” Wagner of Arlington, VA; and a number of nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews.

 She was predeceased by her brother and sister-in-law, Fred and Elsie Baker and her sister, Janie Baker Brewer.

 Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM, Saturday, October 5, 2024 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church by Father Slaven Manning. Interment will follow in Rosemont Cemetery. The family will receive friends Friday, October 4, 2024 from 6:00 until 8:00 PM at the McSwain-Evans Funeral Home. 

 The family suggests memorials be made to St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1605 Main Street, Newberry, SC 29108, Newberry College Music Department, 2100 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108, or to Alzheimer's Disease Research, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871.

 Honorary pallbearers will be Brabham Hester, Dave Carey, Wayne Steffen, and Doug McFarlane.