George Henry Wagner, 88, of Columbia passed away on February 1, 2017, in Columbia.

He was entombed on February 3, 2017 at Memorial Park Cemetery in a private family service.

A memorial service will be held at Bach-Yager Funeral Chapel, 1610 N. Garth Ave in Columbia on March 4, 2017, at 11:00 am with the family receiving friends from 10 am until time of the service. Following the service a light meal will be provided.

George was born on a farm November 29, 1928, twenty minutes after his twin sister who was named Irva Leanna. Their parents, Frank and Pauline Wagner had an older boy, Francis and completed their family a few years later with another son, Paul.

George graduated valedictorian from Culbertson High School in 1946 where he and his sister (salutatorian) had attended all 12 years in a small rural community (Culbertson) in southwestern Nebraska.

After graduation, George attended the College of Agriculture of the University of Nebraska earning a B.S. in Agronomy in 1950. That fall he was drafted into the U.S. Army, trained at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO and then served as a Sgt. in Korea with the Engineering Headquarters of the 2nd Division. Upon discharge, he reentered the University of Nebraska earning a M.S. degree in Soil Science in 1955.

When he was newly married, he and wife, Frances Swartwood moved to Columbia, MO where he entered the University of Missouri earning a PhD. at MU in 1957. He immediately accepted an open faculty position in the Soils Department and served on the faculty until retirement in 1992. His research covered the field of soil microbiology and organic matter. He published more than 100 referred journal articles and his research led to opportunities for sabbatical appointments at other institutions. These included a semester at the University of Illinois (1964), a one year research appointment with the National Research Institute of Canada in Ottawa (1971), a year appointment with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria (1979), a one year research leave at the Le Institute National Agronomique in Versailles, France (1986), and he completed his MU career (1991) working at awarding grants from the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC.

George and Frances were the parents of 6 children: Ronald Wagner, Patricia Bornhop, Katherine Barrett, Sandra Bacon, Jerald (Julie) Wagner, and Julie (Paul) Ladehoff all of Columbia, Missouri; and 9 grandchildren: Andrea, Eric, Emily, Mac, Kaylee, Tucker, Lilah, Joshua, and Rueben. Frances passed away in 1988.

George was active with the church his entire life and he most recently attended the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia. He had a passion for travel and enjoyed exploring and vacationing in numerous countries around the world. He had a great love for farming. Until his health decline, George was an enthusiastic educator and mentor. In retirement, George became an active member of the Golden K Kiwanis Club where he was a willing volunteer in their many service activities focusing on children in the community and across the world.

Always youthfully active until 2015 when he fractured his hip, followed by radiation treatment of a small tumor in his lung that slowed him physically through the remainder of his rich full life.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Golden K Kiwanis or to the Central Missouri Food Bank, c/o Bach-Yager Funeral Chapel, 1610 N. Garth Ave., Columbia, MO 65202.                        

 Service Information