Obituary of Frederick R Wagner

Frederick R. Wagner (84), longtime resident of Clinton, New York, and Professor of English Emeritus at Hamilton College, died Sunday, October 28, 2012, at the Masonic Care Community's Health Pavilion. He was born April 15, 1928, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated co-valedictorian from Haddonfield Memorial High School in New Jersey in 1945 and summa cum laude and first in his class from Duke University in 1948. In 1950 he received an M. A. from Duke. Fred served his country in the US Army from 1951-1953. From 1954 to 1965 he worked as a promotion manager for Prentice-Hall Inc., then for Harper Brothers Publishers in Manhattan. He was married to Barbara Brady, an actress and daughter of William Brady, the producer, and Katherine Alexander, the Hollywood actress, from 1959 to 1968. Fred completed post-graduate studies at New York University and received his PhD from Duke in 1971. After teaching at University of Okalahoma and Duke University, Fred started at Hamilton College as Assistant Professor of English in 1969 and retired as Professor of English in 1995 after serving as Department of English Chairperson for twelve years. He received the first Christian A. Johnson "Excellence in Teaching" Award. Fred was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Hawthorne Society, and the Thoreau Society, where he was a past president. Professor Wagner's published works include Famous American Actor and Actresses, Famous Underwater Adventures, Submarine Fighter of the American Revolution, Patriot's Choice: The Story of John Hancock and Robert Morris, Audacious Patriot. He also published a number of articles throughout his career including those on Bronson Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Christopher (Alex) and Marilyn Wagner of Maplewood, New Jersey, and a granddaughter, Alexandra. Graveside services will be held this coming spring at Hamilton College Cemetery. There will be no public calling hours. Please consider donations to the Frederick Reese Wagner Prize Scholarship Fund at Hamilton College.