Pamela Anderson Wagner

Pamela Anderson Wagner

Beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, Pamela was born on March 3, 1947 and left her earthly body on July 28, 2019, 8+ years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Mike, her 3 adult children Erica, Kyle and Gavin, her daughters-in-law Amy Wagner and Yvette Wagner, her ex (but not really ex) son-in-law Andy Roed, her 5 grandchildren Graham, Quin, Kaylee, Cammy and Katelin, her micro-mini pig Miss Twiggy and her beautiful cat, Kiddo.

Pam and Mike had a unique love story. Growing up together in the small town of Belleville, Illinois, they went to every grade together - kindergarten, grade school, junior high, high school and college. In fact, Mike attended Pam's 4-year old birthday party. They started dating at age 15 and never broke up. They got married between their junior and senior years at Bradley University and lived in Peoria, Illinois, Joliet, Illinois, and Duluth, Minnesota before moving to Seattle in 1976. They were together for 57 years and, for Mike, that was not nearly enough time.

The first thing to know about Pam is that she loved the Lord. Her faith was never "in your face," but oh how strong her witness was to everyone with whom she came in contact. Knowing she is in a glorious state now and forever gives comfort to all who loved her (and there were many). The second thing to know is how much she loved her family. She loved them to "Infinity+1," as one granddaughter would say. Her lasting friendships were formed in many places including Microsoft, where she had a 26-year career, Crossroads Bible Church and the Pro Sports Club in Bellevue. She was so selfless, never bringing attention to herself.

In fact, she has requested that her memorial service, which will be held on Sunday, August 18

at 3:00PM at Crossroads Bible Church, not be "all about her." In all things, she wanted God to have the glory.

At the Pro Club, Pam thought she was something of an oddity as a 72-year old woman who participated in every fitness and exercise class that was offered. In reality, she was a Pro Club legend for over 30 years. Pam was also a walker. Her happy place was a greenbelt near her house where she logged thousands of miles (not an exaggeration.) She also very much enjoyed watching her grandkids play various sports. Never a loud person and mostly an introvert, you could tell how much she loved those kids by just watching her body language in the stands. For Pam, the ability to move and quality of life were one and the same. However, being bedridden for the last 34 days of her life, she adjusted her baseline in that regard. She was always able to find joy in life, even in the most difficult circumstances. Through 8 years of surgeries, chemotherapy and clinical trials, she never once complained. Not once. Instead, she did everything to lessen the burden on her family and friends. That's just who she was right down to the end.

One way that Pam fought this hideous disease was to learn everything she could about it. She researched tirelessly, asked questions and compiled large notebooks to chronicle her journey for the purpose of possibly helping others who might find themselves in a similar position. She literally did everything humanly possible in terms of diet, exercise and lifestyle to knock back the cancer's relentless assault on her body. To plagiarize from another obituary, Pam's cancer didn't win the fight - the cancer died when Pam died, so technically it was a tie.

There is so much more to say about the amazing life and legacy of Pamela Anderson Wagner, but we would be remiss if we were not to mention her master gardening skills. The burden now falls on Mike to make sure her garden is maintained to her high standards.

We also want to acknowledge the prayers, love and support from so many dear friends over these 8 years and particularly the last 34 days that Pam was in the hospital. So many came to visit, share memories and lift Pam's spirit. One special friend from college named Bill traveled from Tennessee to spend 4 days in the hospital with Pam and her family. His presence, love and compassion ministered to each of us and generated the saying within our family, "It's ok, Bill's there." Also, many thanks to our wonderful and immensely talented friend Tina who helped Pam craft "life letters" to be given to her children and grandchildren after her passing. Finally, we cannot give enough praise to the medical professionals on 7SE of the UW Medical Center. They became Pam's cancer family. And of course we extend much love to our incredible and wonderful oncologist, Dr. Renata Urban, whose wisdom and guidance no doubt added years to Pam's life.

Family and friends are grieving so deeply over the loss of this remarkable woman, but her spirit lives on in each of us and we will honor her memory each day for the rest of our lives. She showed us how to live in good times, she showed us how to live with cancer and she showed us how to exit this world with grace and dignity while entering into her eternal glory.

For those wishing to honor Pam's memory through a donation, we suggest making a contribution in her name to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (earmarked for ovarian cancer research), Crossroads Bible Church and/or Pigs Peace Sanctuary - pigspeace.org in Stanwood, WA.

Please sign Pam's online

guest book at www.Legacy.com