Sherry Wagner

Sherry Wagner, 77 of Dakota City, passed away Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at her home. A Celebration of Sherry's Life will be held on Sunday, February 1, 2026, from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM at the Rutland Community Center in Rutland. Services have been entrusted to Lentz Funeral Home of Humboldt. Online condolences may be left at www.lentzfuneralhome.com.
Well, the world just got a whole lot quieter. Sherry (Cargin) Wagner has taken her shenanigans to a higher place, deciding it was time to liven things up in the great beyond. Born February 1, 1948, she was the seventh of 14 kids, to Howard (Bob) and Pearl (Hansen) Cargin, which explains her competitive spirit and ability to make her voice heard in a crowd.
That competitive spirit was honed early on. Long before she was a mom, she was a Cargin kid, which meant her early years in Cleghorn were spent raising a little hell with her siblings and a few great friends. They were a legendary crew, and it was here she perfected the art of the shenanigan and the fierce loyalty that would define her entire life.
Sherry's life was a masterclass in grit. She started out as a single mom to four kids, a job that required the patience of a saint (we all know how that went) and the tenacity of a badger. Realizing she might be outnumbered, she called in reinforcements, Larry Chinn, to help wrangle the wild crew of Steve, Shelley, Susan, and Sandi. The family lived in Cherokee until the railroad brought them to Humboldt/Dakota City, which would become her lifelong home.
In 1994, she married Ed Wagner in a classic Las Vegas wedding, because where else would a woman like Sherry get married? They found joy in a life centered on the bonds they shared with their Rutland family at the "Rutland Bar" serving as their unofficial community headquarters. Sherry spent countless memories there with her friends, where the drinks were cold and the opinions were hot. Together, they would solve anything and everything, from neighborly disputes to global crises, with a level of common sense and sharp wit that most can only dream of. To know Sherry was to know exactly where you stood. She had a tough exterior, a sharp tongue, and a heart of gold reserved for her inner circle. Her unofficial office was often a table at the Rutland Bar, where she and her friends could be found solving anything and everything that came their way. She had a special appreciation for anyone who, as she would say, "smokes cigarettes, drinks beer and talks big" in other words, people who were unapologetically themselves.
In earlier years her passions were simple: a good fishing trip, a great sporting event with friends, and, most importantly, pulling shenanigans on her grandkids. She taught them how to work hard and love fiercely. Nobody was going to outwork her, yet she also loved to spend time working or baking surprise banana bread for her favorite people. And if you ever told her you loved her, you'd get a "Ditto" in return which, in Sherry-speak, meant "I love you more."
Her legacy of laughter and no-nonsense love will be carried on by her husband Ed and children: Steve (Susie) Cargin, Shelley (David) Christensen, Susan (Joel) Rutz, and Sandi (Joe) Holobovich. She leaves behind an entire army of grandchildren who will miss her pranks dearly: Sarah (Joe), Eric, Josie (Cody), Shawn (Lindsey), and Allison (Kyle); Alyssa (Mike), Danielle (Ryan), Bryon (Diana), and Shelby; Jenica (Kyle), Tre (Makenna), and Tyler (Andee); Trysten, Jaden, Joey and Rielend. She also leaves thirteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She found joy in watching them play and grow; they were, in turn, just getting to know her loving and mischievous wild side.
She is also survived by her siblings: Terry Cargin, Connie Shell, Patty (Dale) Lunders, Diana (Doug) Driggs, Butch (Mona) Cargin, Tim (Diane) Cargin, Jim (Debbie) Cargin, Sally (Scott) Wilke, Carla Jarratt, and Chuck (Linda) Cargin. She also leaves her sisters-in-law Cathy Cargin and Donna Cargin, her in-laws Marcia (Bruce) Sundet and Monica (Pat) Staudt, over 40 nieces and nephews, and her loyal friends Kallie, Lala, Kathy, and Renae, who have stuck by her through thick and thin.
She's now reunited with her parents; her brothers, Gene, Dick, and Paul; her in-laws Everett, Margarite, and Jim Wagner; her brothers-in-law Jim Jarrett and Chuck Shell; her sisters-in-law Joan Cargin and Barb Cargin; and other loved ones, probably already telling them how things ought to be run.