Obituary of Charles F. Wagner, Sr.
Charles F. Wagner, Sr., of Clinton Township, passed away on November 16, 2024, at 89. He was born on Christmas Eve, 1934, at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ. Charles grew up on the family dairy farm with three siblings in Warren, NJ. Charles graduated from North Plainfield High School in 1952 with an intense interest in all things mechanical, fast cars, and auto racing. He left his father‘s farm at the end of 1952 and worked in a welding and fabricating shop in Plainfield to learn how to work with and weld anything metal. In December 1954, he married his high school sweetheart, the former Jean Helen Closter of Watchung, NJ. They spent the first two years of their marriage in the U.S. Army stationed in Alaska with his wife and infant son, Charles F. Jr. Returning from the army in late 1956, they moved into one of the houses on the Family farm. He returned to work at the fabricating shop in Plainfield and helped his father on nights and weekends on the farm. A second child, Wendy Jean, was born in 1958, but after a long illness, she died in 1961. A third child, Cindy Louise, was born in 1962.
In 1960, Charles returned to work full-time as a dairy farmer on the family farm in Warren until he sold the herd in 1987. He and Jean then traveled the US, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, and the Canadian Maritimes, including extensive RV trips all over the US while pulling in a van trailer, his much modified 1932 Ford roadster, which he has had since 1951. They attended various car shows in several parts of the country and spent most winters since 1988 in FL in their RV.
Charles and Jean loved cruising and went on several Ocean and River cruises. They were active members of the Clinton Township seniors and went on many day trips with them. Charles was a former member of the Mount Bethel Warren Fire Company, the Garden State State Street Rod, and the National Street Rod Associations.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Jean, of 69 years; a son, Charles F. Jr. and his wife Clarissa of Warren; a daughter Cindy Wagner of Poultney, VT; two grandsons Eric and his wife Rosie of Eastampton, NJ, and Christopher and his wife Lauren of Morristown, NJ, two granddaughters Emma and Faith, Wagner of Poultney, VT and a great-granddaughter Aurora Rose of Eastampton, NJ. He’s also survived by a sister, Dina Bowers of Flemington, NJ; two brothers, Louis Wagner of Leesburg, FL, and Richard Wagner and his wife, Gretchen of Chester, NY; and several nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, from 4-7 PM at Higgins Home For Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung, NJ. The funeral service will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 10:30 AM at the funeral home.
Cremation services will be held privately.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org) in honor of Charles F. Wagner, Sr. ** Please Note*** To make a gift in honor or in memory of someone, please call +1-888-677-6453.
