Bessie Wagner

age of 86.

Bessie was born to the union of Willie Fred Rowe and Nellie Ruth Newell on 12 February 1938 in Newnan, GA.

One of her proudest accomplishments was being a loving and devoted mother to her five children, Cheryl Lynn White, Kenneth Michael (Pope) Wagner, Terri Yolande (Pope) Wagner, Rudolph Dewayne (Pope) Wagner and Charles Elmer Wagner Jr. While in Knoxville, TN, she met and married Charles Elmer Wagner Sr. on 1 October 1961. Shortly after their union, they relocated to FT.Belvoir, VA due to her husband’s military reassignment. In 1966, they bought their earthly home in Woodbridge, VA where they eventually retired from military service.

At the age of 29, she became a lifelong charter member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Woodbridge, VA. Shortly thereafter, they began annual celebrations at their home on the 4th of July where family and friends came together from far and wide to join in this Independence Day bash until failing health kept them from hosting such a vast undertaking. Bessie’s door was always open to any that showed up.

She loved and has been loved by all that she met. She considered everyone either family or friends, there were no strangers to her. Many even called her “mom” or “grandma”. If you needed a meal, a hug, words of wisdom and/or encouragement, you could count on her for that. She has even offered shelter to some in need over the years. She was a lifelong and true friend.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Willie Fred and Nellie Ruth Rowe; her husband, Charles Elmer Wagner Sr.; her daughter, Cheryl Lynn White; her sons, Rudolph Dewayne Wagner and Charles Elmer Wagner and her sisters, Irene Shirley Jones and Willie Pearl Talley.

Left to remember her gentle spirit and never-ending love are her son, Kenneth M. Wagner (Helen); her

daughter, Terri Y. Smith (Keefe); her daughter-in-law, Kelly D. Hessig- Wagner; a host of grandchildren,

great grandchildren, nephews and nieces as well as the family network she created incorporating the

friends she treasured and held as dear to her heart.

A celebration of life for Bessie will be held Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 1:00 PM at Mullins & Thompson Funeral Service, 186 Shelton Shop Rd, Stafford, Virginia 22554.