Richard Siegfried Wagner

1930 - 2015

Richard Siegfried Wagner

Greenville

Richard Siegfried Wagner, of Greenville, died on May 28, 2015 at the age of 84. He was the beloved husband of Shirley Cox Wagner, who survives him.

Richard was born on July 2, 1930, in Peuerbach, Austria, to Maria and Rudolf Wagner. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Josef and Rudolf, and one sister, Martha.

Richard graduated from Textile Hochschule, Reutlingen, Germany, with a degree as Diplom Ingineur in 1957. His textile career reached far and wide across the globe, taking him from Uganda, East Africa to Karachi, Pakistan and beyond.

In 1967, Richard immigrated to the United States, where he served as Director of International sales at Saco-Lowell. His appointment as Managing Director of Leesona Corporation took him and his family to Hong Kong for a few years. They then returned to the Upstate, where Richard served the last 14 years of his career as VP of International Sales with Gibbs International, in Spartanburg.

Richard was a member of Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Greenville. Richard's membership as a Paul Harris Fellow at the Downtown Rotary Club of Greenville was an important part of his life. Richard was also an active member of OLLI, the Learning-in-Retirement Institute at Furman University. Most recently, he was a member of the donor committee that succeeded in raising the construction funds for the new OLLI facility on campus.

Both Richard and Shirley enjoyed being members of the Greenville Symphony Guild and their long time association with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. Richard loved his travel experiences, especially introducing Shirley to his homeland in Austria. Richard and Shirley are members of the Greenville Art Museum and have enjoyed several art appreciation trips with the group.

Richard is also survived by his two daughters, one step-son and two step-daughters and their families, respectively: Minou Kent and husband David, of Mount Pleasant; Alexandra Wagner and husband Dr. Matthew Ryan of Dallas, Texas; Eric Miller and wife, Roxanna, of San Mateo, California; Anita Blackwell of Greenville; and DeAnne Grove and husband Allen of Chesapeake, Virginia. Richard and Shirley have been blessed with 13 grandchildren as well as one great-grandson: Alexandra and Hanna Kent; Ava, Tristan, August and Rowan Ryan; RaeLynn and Davis Miller; Alexandra and Buckley Fulghum; Vowan and Claire Blackwell; Jacob Grove; and Wyatt Kasper Moran.

A Memorial Service will be held at Saint Anthony's Catholic Church on Monday, June 1, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.. Burial will be in Springwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to either OLLI at Furman University, the Rotary Club of Greenville, or Saint Anthony's of Padua School in Greenville.