Nicholas Snowden Wagner

Nicholas “Nick” Snowden Wagner, 87, passed away on January 4, 2025, at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Born July 16, 1937, in Chambersburg, PA, he was the firstborn child of the late John Benjamin Wagner and the late Imogene Snowden Wagner Funk.
Nick was a graduate of Chambersburg Area High School (class of 1955), Penn State University, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in New York and was granted a Hughes Masters Fellowship where he earned his Master’s degree at the University of Southern California. He received his Hughes Doctoral Fellowship, earning his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. During his employment with Hughes Aircraft, he developed many patents for the company and pioneered ID access card technology.
Nick enjoyed many outdoor activities including spelunking, hiking, and riding his motorcycle. His favorite activity was piloting airplanes, completing a flight with his family across the United States from California to Pennsylvania. Nick was the family genealogist, researching and recording relationships, and taking and compiling photos of family members near and far. He enjoyed both foreign and domestic travel, recently completing an item on his bucket list-- visiting and taking a photo of each of the 50 US state capitol buildings.
Nick is survived by his daughters, Christine Shirsty and Susan Montgomery, his sisters, Judith Etter and Jane Tilley, his step-sister, Lissa Diffenderfer and step-brother, Scott Funk. He is also survived by his grandsons, Shawn Northrup, Tyler Montgomery, Kyle Montgomery, Davis Jemison, his granddaughter, Hailey Bennett , his great grandchildren, Roxy Biemiller, Hunter Biemiller and Lavin Northrup. He was loved and will be missed by many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his wife Trudy Swahn Wagner, his daughter, Barbara Jemison, sister, Elizabeth Hannegan and grandson, Brandon Phillips.
Nick will always be remembered for his kind and generous heart, his gentle nature, his intelligence, and his passion to live life.
His burial service will be at the Green Hills Mortuary, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, February 11th, 2025 at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control at https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/donate/ .