Joy Belle Wagner

Joy Belle Wagner, Beloved Wife, Mother, Granny, Great Granny, and Great Great Granny, peacefully left this earth on November 29, 2024, to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was surrounded by her family at the time of her passing.

Joy was born on March 17, 1934, a St. Patrick's Day baby, to A. Ralph and Claudelle Blacksher in Skellytown, TX. When Joy was in the third grade, her mother and three siblings moved to Amarillo, TX. She worked as a waitress at a Mom & Pop café, where she gained many cherished memories. At the age of 15, Joy was involved in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down, with a broken neck, back and skull fracture. A Methodist preacher and his wife came daily to pray for her, and six months later, she had miraculously regained the ability to walk. She was truly a walking miracle.

After the accident, Joy worked at the 7UP bottling company before visiting her father in Colorado, where he was working on caterpillar equipment at a mine on the Uncompahgre Plateau. It was here that she met the love of her life, Richard (Dick) Wagner. After only three weeks, Dick proposed, and they married shortly after. They celebrated their 71st anniversary on September 13, 2024, creating a lifetime of stories and adventures.

Joy and Dick were active in their church, with Joy serving as a Young Christian Ambassador (Y.C.A.) leader alongside Dick for many years. She also worked as the Superintendent of the grade school-aged Sunday School at First Assembly of God Church, and their home was always open to youth group members while their three daughters were growing up. Later, she taught Sunday School at Clifton Assembly of God Church.

In December 1977, they purchased a property on Glade Park, where they began building a cabin. They had the cabin's walls and roof completed in time to celebrate their anniversary there. After retiring from bookkeeping at the family business, Wagner Garage, Joy enjoyed many adventures with Dick, including fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, and camping. Their life together was full of love and never lacked excitement.

Joy is preceded in death by her parents, her stepmother Myrtle, in-laws Menzo and Helen Wagner, and her siblings: Betty Byrd, Clinton Blacksher, Jack Blacksher, Doris Monger, and Homer Blacksher. She was also preceded by her son-in-law, Timothy Mannion.

She is survived by her husband, Richard; daughters Trisa Mannion, Victoria (Vicky) Wagner, and Nancy (Steve) Bennett; grandchildren Nicole (Chuy) Montano, Ty Mannion, Benjamin (ShonDale) Wagner, Aaron (Glory) Wagner, Tiffany (Dane—deceased) Siess, and Tabitha (Jon) Toms; 17 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; her sister-in-law Dorothy Ferguson; and many nieces and nephews.

A special thank you to the hospice nurses and staff for their tender care.

Services will be held on December 6, 2024, at 10 AM at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary.