Joan Katherine Wagner

Joan Katherine Wagner passed peacefully at home on September 14, 2025. Joan was born July 8, 1940, in Washington, D.C., to parents Francis J. Burns and Mary Ellen (Estep). Growing up, she attended Catholic schools in the District of Columbia and out of state. In her late teens, Joan entered a Convent in Wheaton, Illinois, which is part of the Wheaton Franciscans with the intention of becoming a nun. She served 18 months as a novice before she felt a different calling from God and returned to her D.C. family home. She worked at Lansburgh’s Department Store and later as a bank teller near the White House. She Attended Mt. Carmel Catholic Church and joined the Young Adult Group with her younger sister and during this time, she met and married the love of her life, Richard (Dick) Wagner.

As newlyweds, they lived in the District of Columbia , before moving to a home in Maryland (Riverdale and Frederick) to raise a large family. They loved vacationing in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; living there for a few years enjoying life at the beach. Later, Dick’s job took them to West Chester, Ohio where they spent the next 30 years together and where she enjoyed volunteering at St. Rita School for the Deaf. After nearly 60 years of marriage, Dick passed in December 2019, and Joan moved back to the Frederick area to be with family. She moved in with her daughters Alice (Nadene) and Kathy and affectionally referred to her new home as “Pinkie.”

In her years back in Frederick, Joan was surrounded by love from all her children, neighbors, cats (and a dog or two), as well as the wonderful health professionals in the area. She especially enjoyed family nights watching BBC shows such as “Call the Midwife” and “Creatures great and small” with her family, neighborhood get-togethers admiring the vivid displays of sunsets, and the special dinners where she feasted on every last morsel of Maryland crab she could find in the shell.

Joan is survived by her children: Elizabeth (Craig) Lalley, Richard Wagner, Kathleen Wagner, Amy (Jon) Acquafondata, Alice Wagner (Nadene Vevea, who loved and was loved as her special daughter), and Stephen Wagner. Grandchildren Samantha (David) Stringer, Jennifer (Alex) Turman, and Kristen Lalley (Thanos Pappas); great-grandchildren Alexander, Caterina, Kathleen, Claire, and Nolan.

Our family is grateful to the ladies of “Pinkie” for opening their home to mom and caring for her above and beyond as her health deteriorated over the years. The family is especially grateful for the loving care and support given to Joan by the teams at SiviMed Associates and from Frederick Health Hospice.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, husband Dick, and by her sisters, Pauline Perry and Helen Cordero.

A funeral mass will be held at noon on Wednesday, October 1st, 2025, at St. Joseph on Carrollton Manor Catholic Church, 5843 Manor Woods Rd, Frederick, Maryland 21703. Visitation with the family is the hour prior at 11:00AM, at the church. Interment will be at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland following the service.

Fond memories and stories can be shared below.