J.S. Wagner passed away on November 19, 2021, at Meadowlark Retirement Community in Manhattan, KS.
Junior Simeon "J.S." Wagner was born on October 25, 1922, in Smith
Center, KS. His parents were Lillie (Routh) and A. F. “Jud” Wagner.
J.S. attended primary grades at Smith Center Grade and then a one
room country school north of Smith Center. He was an honor student and
football and track athlete at SCHS, graduating in 1940. J.S. went on to
Fort Hays but his time there was interrupted by WWII. J.S. followed his
father’s footsteps and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942.
J.S. was assigned to officer training school at Bowling Green State
University in Ohio. He returned later to Bowling Green to receive his
bachelor’s degree.
J.S. met his wife Betty (Barcus) Wagner at SCHS. They were married
in 1945. J.S. and Betty were blessed with 3 children, Nancy, Jim and
Joe.
J.S. was enlisted with the Marine Corps, both active and reserve
duty for several years spanning WWII and the Korean War. He was
discharged with the rank of Captain. While J.S. was in the Marine
Reserves he was hired as a social studies teacher at Lebanon High
School. He then was called back to active duty to serve in Korea. Upon
completing his Marine assignment in Korea, he resumed teaching in
Lebanon.
In the mid 1950s, J.S. decided to pursue administration certification using the GI Bill to study at the University of Colorado.
In 1955 J.S. started his long tenure as school superintendent in
Kensington. He remained as superintendent until retirement in the spring
of 1987. He developed and maintained hundreds of positive relations
with the students, staff and community members at Kensington. In
addition, he supervised the development of many building projects for
USD 238 and held many league administration duties. J.S. was a member of
many organizations including the United Church of Kensington, Lions
Club (charter member), VFW, American Legion, The Marine Corps League and
the KS Retired Teachers Association (serving as state president at one
time. He was league president of the K-18 (cookie) baseball association
at one time. In addition, J.S. wrote a grant that in large part provided
financial support for the building of the Kensington Senior Center.
J.S. and Betty continued to make Kensington their home after his
retirement until October 2017. During retirement J.S. and Betty remained
quite active in community affairs. J.S. was a big sports fan. His
favorite teams were the Kensington Gold Bugs, Thunder Ridge Longhorns,
K-State Wildcats, Bowling Green Falcons, the Royals and the Chiefs.
J.S. was proceeded in death by his parents, his sisters Maxine and Donna (Attwood) and grandson Joey Weber.
He is survived by his daughter Nancy Weber (John), son Jim Wagner
(Susan), son Joel Wagner (Diane), grandson Greg Wagner and a brother Bob
(Vicki) Wagner.
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