Sara Ann Wagner

Sara Ann Wagner
Born in: Washington, DC
Resided in: Bigfork, MT
Sara Ann (Sally) Peabody Wagner, 91, died March 30, 2022, at her home in Bigfork, Montana. Born in
1930 in Washington D.C., the youngest child of Dr. and Mrs. J. Winthrop Peabody, Sally graduated from
Blessed Sacrament Grammar School in Chevy Chase, MD and Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
in Washington, D.C.
In 1949, having completed one semester at Rosemont College in PA, Sally accepted a very romantic
marriage proposal from 2nd Lt. William Francis Wagner. After a Catholic marriage by proxy, Sally joined
Bill at the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, where they celebrated their nuptials. She was a devoted
wife and proud mother of seven children: Christy, Gabriel, Susan, Katie, Tom, Joe and John. She
returned to school later in life to complete her undergraduate degree (Magna Cum Laude), two
graduate degrees, and a teaching credential at California State University Northridge. For the next 20
years, she taught Special Education at Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles.
In April 1994, Sally and Bill retired to Bigfork, MT where they indulged their lifelong passion for natural
beauty by hiking the many trails in Glacier National Park, cross-country skiing and evening strolls along
the River Walk. At their home in Bigfork, Sally and Bill hosted their beloved grandchildren with fun
times: boating on Flathead Lake, inner tubing down the Flathead and Swan Rivers and hiking at
Avalanche Lake and Logan’s Pass at Glacier National Park. They were active members of St. John Paul II
Catholic Church where Sally taught religious education classes and participated in the Parish Prayer Line.
When Bill passed away in 1996, Sally began volunteering at the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center, the Bigfork
Center for Performing Arts and at the local nursing home. An avid genealogist, she researched and
compiled, as a gift for her children, an extensive family history. As a devoted member of the Bigfork PEO
chapter, she gave lectures on learning history through genealogy.
Sally is preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her youngest son, John, her sister, Naomi Peabody, and
brother, Dr. J. Winthrop Peabody, Jr. She is survived by six children, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great
grandchildren, and many close nieces and nephews. Beloved by her family, she is dearly missed.
Sally will be buried beside her husband at St. Andrew’s Benedictine Abbey in Valyermo, CA.

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