Teresa Ann "Tish" WAGNER

1954 - 2018

WAGNER, Teresa Ann "Tish" Teresa Ann "Tish" Wagner age 64 of Spokane, passed to the next level of consciousness on November 21st 2018 after a two and a half year courageous fight against cancer. She was at her daughter's home, surrounded by loved ones when she passed. A Spokane native, Teresa was born to Al and Pauline Birch January 5th 1954. She graduated from Shadle Park High School in 1972. She worked at Keytronic Corp through 1979 as the Customer Service Manager, then at ISC Corp managing the Distribution Department until 1986 leaving there to become an expert in handwriting analysis and forensic document examination. She began her own document examining business, Professional Handwriting Analysis, in 1986. During its operation, Teresa reviewed documents in over 600 civil and criminal cases and gave expert testimony in many court cases. She was committed to helping people fight for justice. While running her business, Teresa earned her paralegal degree in 1995 and was awarded the first ever Outstanding Paralegal Graduate of the Year Award. She then graduated magna cum laude from EWU with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice in 2003. Teresa then closed her business in 2003 to pursue Compliance and Risk Management in the banking industry. She had been working as a fraud investigator for Washington Trust Bank until she lost her fight with cancer. She loved her profession and her coworkers and she will be missed by many. Teresa's hobbies included gardening, golf, fishing, reading, and playing cards. She especially loved whitewater rafting in the summer, spending time at Orcas Island in the San Juan, Islands of Washington State, and attending blues festivals. Two other activities that she really loved to do was hanging out with her cat Emma, and traveling with her daughter Melinda. Teresa is survived by her parents Al and Pauline Birch, her daughter Melinda Hurt, her husband Gary Wagner, step-sons Jamison and Derek Wagner, and three grandchildren. If you would like to send bereavement flowers, please consider donations in her name to Spokane Humane Society instead. Teresa believed in their mission and the welfare of animals. The family would like to thank Hospice of Spokane and Cancer Care Northwest, especially Doctors Mei Dong and Robert Fairbanks with helping Teresa fight this battle. A celebration of life will be held in the spring on April 20th, per Teresa's request. If you would like more information regarding the celebration, please contact Gary at gwagner97@hotmail.com.