Archibald C. Wagner

Archibald Cunningham Wagner, M.D., age 82, of Livingston, MT, died March 29, 2013, at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, MT. A Memorial Funeral Service celebrating Arch's life will be held at Livingston Christian Center, 1400 Mount Baldy, Friday, April 5, 2013 at 3:00 p.m., with Pastor Duane Huie officiating. Fellowship will follow the service at the Church. Arrangements are under the direction of Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory. Arch was born on Sept. 11, 1930, in Norton, VA, a small town in Appalachia. The son of a successful dentist A. C. Wagner and Edith Watkins; Arch went on to study medicine at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA, (which became the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine) and earned his M.D. in June 1954. After a year's internship in Syracuse, NY, Arch served for three years as a Captain in the United States Air Force, completing a term in the medical surgical field at Andrews Hospital-Bolling A.F.B. in June 1958. Arch completed his residency at MCV in June 1962, after which he co-founded a two-person radiological practice based in Warrenton, VA, at Fauquier Hospital that also served Front Royal, Culpeper, and Manassas, VA. The practice grew to more than a dozen radiologists by 1990. Arch was named president of the Virginia chapter of the American College of Radiology from 1985-1986. He was named a fellow emeritus of the American College of Radiology in 1991. Arch was an avid fly-fisher and after many summer family vacations to the Boulder River Ranch in Montana, he was hooked. He and his first wife, Jane, made Montana their home in the summer of 1991. Arch traded in his Brooks Brothers for cowboy boots as he immersed himself in the West. A lifelong learner, Arch became an avid horseman and served on the board of the Montana and Yellowstone Reining Horse Associations. Arch's life will be defined by the integrity, honor, sense of fairness, humor, intelligence, continual quest for learning, love of family and friends, the twinkle in his eye and a genuine "renaissance man" zest for life. In addition to his professional achievements, Arch authored numerous works, both professional and personal, including numerous articles, poems and a book on the Nelson's Spring Creek - "Growing Up In Paradise," which is in its second printing. Arch loved sports including golf, baseball, tennis, skiing, fly-fishing, reining, sailing, shooting, hiking, and archery. He also was accomplished musically, showing interest in the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, recorder, and even the bagpipes, a connection to his Scottish heritage. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Wagner, in 1995, as well as his parents, A.C. and Edith Wagner. He is survived by his second wife, Gwen Wagner, of Livingston, MT; daughter Susan Kathrine Wagner, and her partner, Dr. William Ritchie; daughter Amy Witten Wagner, and her partner, Karen Langebeck; son Stuart Turner Wagner, his wife, Lydia Dawn Wagner, and their children, Lydia Claire Wagner, and her partner, Andrew Tolbert, and Montana Katherine Wagner, and her partner, Zachary Gillespie; son Alec Cunningham Wagner, and his partner, William Vincent Mills; and stepdaughter Melanie Jo Handl. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to the Bozeman Symphony, 1001 Oak St., Suite 201, Bozeman, MT 59715.