Elizabeth Wagner

Elizabeth Huse Brown Wagner died on April 13, 2012. She was born in Newburyport, MA, April 5, 1915, the daughter of Mary Tyler Colby and Arthur Perkins Brown. She had been a White Plains resident since 1946.

A 1937 graduate of Wheaton College, Norton, MA, she had served on the board of its Alumnae/i Association and had been her class secretary since 1967. She received an Alumnae Service Award from her college in 1960 for her efforts on behalf of school integration in White Plains.

She attended graduate school at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA, before joining the staff of the Harvard College Records Office in 1938. She later became secretary to the Dean of Freshmen there, a post she held until her marriage in 1945 to Ralph Elwood Wagner of Camp Hill, PA, then a captain in the United States Army Air Force. The Wagners moved to White Plains in 1946, following the completion of his tour of duty.

Active in educational and community service, beginning in the 1950's, Mrs. Wagner was the first president of the Church Street School Parent-Teacher Association. She served on numerous study committees and on the Adult Education Advisory Committee. She was president of the White Plains Council of Parent-Teacher Associations from 1962-1964 and, also, was Westchester District PTA program chairman for two years.

Mrs. Wagner served on the Mayor's Recreation Advisory Committee under Mayors Edwin G. Michaelian and Richard S. Hendey and received special recognition from the City of White Plains in 1968 for her service to White Plains youth, school and recreation projects.

In 1964 Mrs. Wagner became a staff writer for The Reporter Dispatch, a position she held for 10 years. She was responsible for both a daily calendar of events and a special events column for much of that time.

Following her retirement in 1974, she joined the Woman's Club of White Plains, serving on many of the club's sections. An art major in college, she served as chairman of the Art-Travel Section art show on several occasions. She was an editor and managing editor of the club's magazine Club Dial for many years. She was active in the club's Garden Section, as well, and was for over 10 years head of the Grounds Committee which was responsible for landscaping and caring for the gardens on the property on Ridgeway. Mrs. Wagner served as club president from 1990 to 1992. She was a member and past president of the White Plains Garden Club and a Section chairman for the 9th District, Federated Garden Clubs of New York State.

Mrs. Wagner joined the College Club of White Plains in 1964 and was made an honorary member in 1983 in recognition of her contributions to civic and community affairs and her dedication to the club. She served as its president from 1993 to 1995.

She was a founding member of the Central Westchester Audubon Society in 1976 and was president of the organization from 1982 to 1990. Before and during her tenure in office she was in charge of a community garden project involving local children and their families on the grounds of Burke Rehabilitation Center. She also edited its newsletter for 20 years.

She was a member of the board of directors and a past vice-president of the White Plains Beautification Foundation, serving as one of its volunteer gardeners and contributing to its newsletter.

A life member of the White Plains Historical Society, she had served on its board of directors and was named "Citizen Extraordinaire"� in 1992 by the society "for her many years of unstinting service to the White Plains community through her chosen community organizations."�

An elder in the White Plains Presbyterian Church, she served, also as chairman of its Property Commission and as president of its Women's Association.

Mrs. Wagner, whose husband died in 1987, is survived by two sons, David of Mountain Ranch, CA, and Stephen of Earlysville, VA, and two grandchildren, Emily and Matthew.

There will be a Memorial Service on Saturday, April 21 at 10am at the White Plains Presbyterian Church, 39 North Broadway.