Joan Wagner

JOAN NAOMI WAGNER OBITUARY August 13, 1938 to December 7, 2022 Joan Naomi Wagner was born on August 13th, 1938, in Pittsburgh, PA, to Naomi and George Tatzer of Wilkinsburg, PA. She crossed over on Thursday, December 7th, 2022, at age 84. She was preceded just years earlier by her beloved husband of 41 years, Robert G. Wagner Sr. (Bob). Joan graduated high school in Pittsburgh, PA 1955/1956 and married her first husband, Barry Grove (d.2013) with whom she had 3 children: Wade, Karen, and Janet. Right after getting married, they moved to her favorite city, San Diego, where Wade and Karen were born. Soon Barry was transferred with his work to Concord, MA where Janet was born and then to Verona, NJ before landing in Boulder, CO in 1969. After Joan and Barry divorced in 1973, she began working at Safeway as a cashier. This is where she met Bob Wagner, Sr working as an assistant produce manager. During her career at Safeway Joan received many employee awards and had newspaper articles written about her and how much she was loved by the community. At one point the community threatened to boycott the Safeway store if they laid Joan off during an economic downturn. Everyone that met her felt instantly like friends. If you knew her a few minutes more, you were best friends. Joan and Bob married in 1977 and the new family included Bob’s sons from his previous marriage, Robert Jr., and Rodney (d.1999). Bob and Joan moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1985 to escape the freezing snow and were together 41 years until Bob’s passing in 2018. With a sad heart followed by the mandated isolation, Joan’s health began to decline. Joan was a devoted mother who would do anything for her kids! She also loved her puppy dogs so much that she often referred to them as her kids too, so Reggie, Rocco, and Peanut earn mention as part of the family. She absolutely loved all the holidays and would “do them up” with decorations and celebrations that included so many friends and neighbors. That love of celebrating transferred to her service at Lakeview United Methodist Church. Joan and Bob joined Lakeview when they retired and moved to Sun City. I remember years of having to “schedule” time with mom because she was so busy with church events. And she loved every minute of it. I was surprised at what all she and Bob had taken and on and how good they were at it. I know she is missed. Joan is survived by her loving family Wade Grove and his wife, Crystal in Colorado; Janet Craven and her husband Bradley in Sun City West; Karen Grove in Scottsdale; and Robert Wagner Jr. and his wife Eulene in Colorado. She has 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren with one more on the way. We all will remember her saying, as she blows kisses and smiles that charming smile, “I love you more!” We love you more too, Joan! A memorial service will be held January 28th, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at Lakeview United Methodist Church. Please RSVP to jscraven2@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the guest list.