Catherine Wagner
Catherine Cecelia Wagner, 82, of Lansing died suddenly in her home Monday, September 5, 2022. Mass of Christian Burial was held Saturday, September 10 at Immaculate Conception Church. Interment followed Mass at Gethsemane Cemetery, Lansing.
Cathy was born November 22, 1939 in Winona, MN, the sixth child of Bernard and Elizabeth (Bratek) Cerney, Sr. She graduated from Cotter High School in 1957, and November 15, 1958 she married Clair Wagner at St. John’s Catholic Church in Winona. To this union 10 children were born.
After growing up in the river city of Winona, Cathy quickly adjusted to life in rural Allamakee County. Cathy and Clair were hard working, devoted parents who raised their family in the Catholic faith. She was one of Paul Horsfall’s first employees and also worked at Thornton Manor in Lansing.
Cathy was a well-respected seamstress. She sewed many uniforms for Granny Basketball squads throughout Iowa and never said no to altering a pair of pants or a dress for the local community. She enjoyed gardening, quilting, and was an avid reader, belonging to a local book club.
Cathy cherished her friendships that spanned many decades and loved hearing about her children and grandchildren’s lives. The people of Lansing will miss seeing her on her daily walk. Above all, Cathy was a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Clair Wagner; five daughters, Angela (Tom) Weighner and Rita (the late Dave) Newton, both of Waukon, Sara (Julian) Gonzales of Visalia, CA, Mary (Jeff) Loeffelholz of Waukee and Beth (Jamie) Pursley of Wendell, NC; and four sons, Patrick, Paul (Arla), Andrew (Erica) and Matthew (Ann), all of Lansing. She is also survived by 24 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and her sister, Betty (Bernie) Drier of Rochester, MN.
Cathy is preceded in death by her parents, Bernard and Elizabeth Cerney; her father- and mother-in-law, Frank and Monica Wagner; a son, Peter Clair Wagner; three brothers, Bernard Jr., Charles and Paul Cerney; one sister, Mary Therese Bambenek; a son-in-law, Dave Newton; and three grandchildren, Katie Weighner, Elijah Wagner and Lilly Pursley.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Cathy’s memory to Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) and Gethsemane Cemetery.
