Dolores "Mom" Wagner waved us all goodbye on Wednesday, October 28, 2020. She
was 92, the same age that Kenny was when he said goodbye on March 7, 2018. Due
to Covid-19 precautions, a private service for Dolores will be held just for
immediate family. Graveside interment will occur at the Corwith Cemetery where
Dolores will be laid to rest next to Kenny. The family is planning a full
celebration of life for Dolores next summer. Stay tuned. Mom would want it that
way. In lieu of flowers, monetary memorials can be made to the Dolores Wagner
Memorial Fund. Checks can be sent to Ramona Stewart, 635 SE Peachtree Drive,
Waukee, IA., 50263. Memorials will be divided among Dolores's favorite
charities. Dolores Ann Thompson (Wagner) was born in Aurora, Illinois on October
22, 1928 to the proud parents of Agnes and LuVerne Thompson. They later moved to
Kanawha, Iowa where they took up farming and Dolores attended school. After
graduating high school, Dolores married her sweetheart, Kenny Wagner from
Corwith, Iowa, on November 17, 1946. They farmed near Corwith until they retired
in 1996, and then moved to Kanawha where they enjoyed many years together
hosting family and friends alike. Mom Wagner was the most unselfish person you
would ever meet. She determined in her early years that what gave her the most
pleasure in life was providing for those she loved. From the time she first laid
eyes on Kenny in high school until she said goodbye to him more than 70 years
later, she never lost that joy, and she never skipped a beat. Speaking of
skipping, Mom and Dad did it to their favorite big bands many times over the
years. Their footprints surely still exist on the dance floors of some of
northern Iowa's greatest dance halls, including the Surf Ballroom, the Duncan
Community Ballroom, and the Bancroft Dance Hall. When it came to the two-step,
they were the King and Queen. In between the dancing and the many hot meals and
taking care of five kids (Vicki, the twins Dave and Dan, Tim and Moni) Mom
somehow found time to also be a farmer, not just a farmer's wife. She always
enjoyed spending time in her garden with a big straw hat and long sleeved shirt
(had to protect that beautiful Scandinavian skin), dressing and freezing 100
chickens in one day, and also walking beans with the entire family. But it was
in her kitchen where Dolores was truly a Queen. Just like her mother Agnes's
kitchen, love came out of the oven 365 days a year. From her homemade pot roast
to her meat loaf to her pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls (all from scratch), the
warmth from Dolores's kitchen could surely relieve any sadness or ailment. But
there was one dish that made Mom Wagner legendary – her potato salad. At family
and friends gatherings where many scrumptious dishes were on the menu, one could
be guaranteed that Mom's potato salad would be entirely consumed. In fact, if
you didn't indulge on the first helping, you missed out. And when you asked Mom
for the recipe, she simply said, "Oh, it's just in my head." During an era of
women rightfully claiming their place in society, Dolores didn't flinch. "You
damn right" she once said. She never considered herself second to her husband.
Rather, she was a partner and Kenny knew it, and treated her as such. He took
special pleasure when, on a crisp fall afternoon while combining corn on the
quarter section, he'd see the love of his life pull into the field with the
pickup, and in the warm cab Dolores would greet him with a hot cup of coffee and
a fresh homemade cinnamon roll. Still, she wasn't afraid to get on the tractor,
run the corn picker, and haul loads of harvested corn to town. Nor was she
afraid to speak her mind when it came to issues of the day, exercising her right
to vote, or even call her Senator if she needed to do so. Most who knew Dolores,
particularly her family from the kids all the way to the great-grandkids,
understood that she was one strong woman. She took charge in her own quiet way,
and managed when she needed too. Without question. Literally. Not that you were
afraid to question her direction. Rather, you knew she was right. You
understood. End of discussion. It was that strength that enabled Dolores to
endure multiple tragedies. When a car accident took her only sibling, her
beloved sister Virginia Merriam in 1972, she held strong. A decade later when
Alzheimer's disease consumed her parents, LuVerne and Agnes Thompson, she took
control because she had to. Thirty years later when cancer took her first child
and beloved daughter Vicki Moore, Dolores, the woman who rarely used foul
language, quietly said, "This is the shits. My kids aren't supposed to go before
me." Finally when the love of her life, the father of her kids, her corn-picking
farmer-husband who lovingly said, "Hey Freckles!" the first time he saw her … it
was when he left her side that Dolores waivered. It became the biggest challenge
to her heart and spirit yet. Still, she carried on, enjoying her friends, kids,
grandkids, and great-grandkids, reading her favorite novels, staying up on
current affairs, cross stitching kitchen towels for her family, going for walks,
and driving herself to the grocery store and doctor appointments. At the
culmination of a life well-lived, we rightfully bid Mom adieu. Off she goes to
take that hot Thermos of coffee to Dad so he can finish combining that quarter
section of good Iowa corn. Afterwards, they will celebrate at the kitchen table
by sharing a cold beer, ruminating on the day, and planning their next trip to
the dance floor. Mom, we love you forever. Enjoy the dancing. Dolores was
preceded in death by her parents, Agnes and LuVerne Thompson, her sister
Virginia Merriam, her granddaughter Paula Wagner, her oldest child and daughter
Vicki Moore, her husband of 71 years Kenneth Wagner, and son-in-law Smoke
Stewart. Dolores is survived by her four children Dave (Vicki) Wagner, Dan
(Vicki) Wagner, Tim (Shawna) Wagner, Ramona Stewart; son-in-law Andy Moore; 11
grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and all who she loved to the moon and
back.