Grey Littleton Wagner, a resident of Signal Mountain and a charter member of St. Augustine Parish, died April 29. She was 100.
Mrs. Wagner was the daughter of the late Marguerite Warner Littleton and the late Augustine Brabson Littleton, formerly of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. She also was preceded in death by her late husband, Joseph Church Wagner, and her brother Lt. Col. Augustine Brabson Littleton of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish.
Survivors include her children, Robert Wagner of St. Augustine Parish, Marguerite Cissy (Bob) Coleman of Vicksburg, Miss., Alice (Sib) Evans Jr. of St. Augustine Parish, Richard (Sunny) Wagner, Jon Wagner, Mary-Jo (Rob) Richie of St. Augustine Parish, Kathleen (Fred) Robinson, Michael (Joan) Wagner of St. Augustine Parish, and Patricia (Wayne) Stewart, also of St. Augustine Parish. She had 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Wagner graduated from Academy of Holy Names (Class of ‘35) in Florida, receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chattanooga (Class of ‘39) and a master’s degree from Columbia University in New York.
Upon graduation from Columbia, she served on the faculty of the University of Chattanooga and then on the faculty of Randolph Macon.
Joe and Grey Wagner were married in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where Mr. Wagner was stationed with the FBI during World War II. After the war, they returned to Signal Mountain, where Mr. Wagner joined his father in the family law firm.
During World War II, Mrs. Wagner volunteered by teaching swimming to Navy recruits, in the Red Cross, and as a nurse’s aide in various hospitals. She received several awards from the American Red Cross for her wartime service.
When she returned to Chattanooga, she volunteered with Hamilton County Juvenile Court Home for Girls, with the YWCA, and was a founding member of two parish boards of education.
She is a past president of the Nashville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, provident director and national director of the National Council of Catholic Women, and she maintained membership in the Knoxville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women from its inception.
She also was an active member of the Junior League of Chattanooga, Nancy Ward Chapter of the DAR, recipient of the Gold Eaglet from the National Girl Scouts in which she was a Scout leader, she was president of Chi Omega Fraternity/Delta Alpha Chapter at the University of Chattanooga, and was recognized in “Who’s Who” in American universities and colleges.
Mrs. Wagner was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Paul VI in 1975. As a Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice recipient, she was in the procession at the Mass to establish the Diocese of Knoxville on Sept. 8, 1988.
She also was recognized by the Chattanooga Association of Churches, the Tennessee Association of Churches, and the Diocese of Nashville for representing the Catholic Church in the ecumenical movement.
A funeral Mass was celebrated May 4 at St. Augustine. In the funeral procession to Mount Olivet Cemetery, the Signal Mountain Police Department, Fire Department, and Walden’s Ridge Fire Department lined U.S. 127 atop Signal Mountain to salute Mrs. Wagner.
