Annie C. Wagner

Annie Wagner (nee Anna Claire Patterson), of West Chester, age 83, died February 17 following a long illness. She is survived by husband Robert “Wags” Wagner, children Christopher (Claire), Timothy (Fran), Claudia (Peter Katz) and Perry (Sue), and grandchildren, Erin, Max (Annie), Calvin, Nick, Will, Benno, Emma, Charlie, Juliana, Sophie, Andrew and Grace. She is preceded in death by son Daniel (Ellen), in 2002, three brothers and a sister. Annie grew up in St. Bernard and met her beloved Wags at a dance at Roger Bacon High School. A pianist and singer, Annie raised her family in a home full of baseball, music, and laughter. At age 50, she fulfilled a life-long dream and entered college, earning a communications degree from Xavier University in 1982. From 1980-1984, Annie was the host of the popular Saturday afternoon WVXU-FM program “When Swing Was King,” enjoyed by thousands of loyal listeners. After returning from living in New Jersey for seven years, Annie created and hosted “The Song Shop” on WMKV-FM from 1995-2006. Her #1 fan – Wags – was her trusted board-operator. Annie loved being “on air” and she was good at it. Her commemoration of the 50th anniversary of VJ Day, “When the Lights Went on Again,” garnered a 1996 National Gabriel Award in recognition of radio programming that uplifts the human spirit. She was a national finalist for the Silver Microphone Award in 1999 and was voted #1 DJ in Cincinnati in 2001. In recognition of her dedication to programming for seniors and her volunteer work with Radio Reading Services, the city of Cincinnati declared January 27, 1999 as “Annie Wagner Day.” After leaving live radio, Annie took her program online, where her recorded shows featuring music from the Great American Songbook can still be heard at www.oursongshop.com. Visitation is at 12 noon, Saturday, February 23, at Hodapp Funeral Home, 6410 Cincinnati-Dayton Rd., Liberty Township. Service begins at 1 p.m. Private burial will be Monday. To honor Annie’s memory, the family suggests contributions to the Annie Wagner Music Scholarship Fund, 602 Main Street, Suite 1000, Cincinnati, OH 45202.