Richard Wagner

Richard F. Wagner, known to all as Dick, passed away on March 11, 2026, at the age of 95 after a period of declining health. Born on January 31, 1931, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Richard F. Wagner and Mary M. Wagner, he graduated from Rivers Country Day School and Middlebury College, where he met his future wife, Josephine (Jo) A. Eaton. Following graduation, he served as a naval aviator with Patrol Squadron 23 at Brunswick Naval Air Station and married Jo while on active duty.

After his discharge from the Navy, Dick joined Central Maine Power as an engineering assistant. He went on to lead the company’s Area Development Department, which later became Business and Community Services, serving as its director. Deeply committed to economic development, he served as president of the Economic Development Council of Maine and the Northeastern Industrial Development Association, chaired the Area Development Committee of the Electric Council of New England, and was a Certified Industrial Developer.

Dick was equally dedicated to his community and civic life. He held leadership roles in the Yarmouth and Augusta Jaycees, the Augusta Area Chamber of Commerce, the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Kennebec Valley United Way. In Manchester, he served on the Charter Commission, as secretary of the Planning Board, and as the town’s economic development advisor. An Eagle Scout, he remained active in Scouting for decades as a troop committee member, Scoutmaster of Troop 659, and advancement chair for the Kennebec Valley and Pine Tree Council, earning both the District Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver Award.

A lifelong outdoorsman, Dick loved sailing with the Cobbossee Yacht Club, cross-country skiing, road racing, and cycling, particularly in Acadia National Park. In 1965, he and Jo built their home on Pond Road in Manchester, where they lived for 57 years. After retiring from CMP, he continued working on his property, developing ski trails, harvesting firewood, and volunteering for many years at the Owls Head Transportation Museum as a tour guide, Model T driver, and aircraft restoration volunteer.

Dick was a kind, generous, intelligent, and wonderful man who remained a gentleman to the end. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 67 years, Jo, his parents, and his sisters Elizabeth Parmelee and Mary Staubach. He is survived by his son Scott and wife Lisa of York, his daughter Mary Jo Wagner Dedon and husband Tom of Cumberland, five grandchildren—Matthew, Erica, and Elizabeth Wagner, and Anna and Natalie Dedon—and two great-grandchildren, Levi and Bryan.