Obituary for Michael L. Wagner
Michael Lech Wagner, MD, born on March 15, 1936, passed away at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, on November 24, 2021. He was 85 years old. He is predeceased by his wife, Etsuko Wagner, née Miura, and survived by his brother, David, his two sons, Michael and David, his daughter-in-law, Merel, and his two grandchildren, Berend and Julia.
Dr. Wagner was born in Bayonne, NJ, to Michael and Sophie (Lech) Wagner. He was raised in Bayonne, and lived in Jersey City for 15 years before settling in his home in Franklin Lakes, where he lived for 38 years.
He was second in his graduating class at St. Peter’s Preparatory School in 1953, and graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of his class at St. Peter’s College in 1957. He graduated Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1961 near the top of his class. He was a straight medical intern and junior medical resident at Jersey City Medical Center, 1961-63, assistant resident in medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 1963-64, visiting fellow in pharmacology, New York Heart Association research fellow, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University from 1964-65, and a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine.
He was a Reserve Commissioned Officer grade of First Lieutenant in the US Army (1962), and later served his country during the Vietnam War as a Captain in the Medical Corps from 1965-67. He was chief, general medical service, at the United States Army Medical Center in Okinawa, Japan, where he met his future wife, Etsuko Wagner. They remained happily married until she passed away in 1989. He never remarried.
He practiced medicine in Jersey City for over fifty years from 1967-2018. He was Chief of Electrocardiography at the Jersey City Medical Center from 1970-86, and Medical Director at the Jewish Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for over thirty years. He retired from the practice of medicine in 2018 at the age of 82.
He was also a writer. His academic research papers were published in peer-reviewed journals in the 1960’s, including American Journal of Cardiology, Bulletin of New York Academy of Medicine, Circulation Research, and Investigative Urology. Later in life, he wrote a book of fiction as well as three works of non-fiction. He wrote every day, and was editing the second edition of one of his books when he passed away.
Dr. Wagner was a caring, honest and generous man. He made old-fashioned house calls with his doctor’s bag in the middle of the night. He treated many of his patients without payment, either as a professional courtesy to fellow physicians and their families, or to those who simply could not afford to pay. He gladly accepted home-baked cookies instead. He was never rushed for time, and always willing to listen to a good story, or tell one himself, and so developed real friendships with many of his patients, friendships that lasted for decades. He was respected by colleagues, loved by friends, and especially loved by his family. To his sons, he was a father but also a best friend. He will be missed dearly.
Dr. Wagner was born in Bayonne, NJ, to Michael and Sophie (Lech) Wagner. He was raised in Bayonne, and lived in Jersey City for 15 years before settling in his home in Franklin Lakes, where he lived for 38 years.
He was second in his graduating class at St. Peter’s Preparatory School in 1953, and graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of his class at St. Peter’s College in 1957. He graduated Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1961 near the top of his class. He was a straight medical intern and junior medical resident at Jersey City Medical Center, 1961-63, assistant resident in medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 1963-64, visiting fellow in pharmacology, New York Heart Association research fellow, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University from 1964-65, and a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine.
He was a Reserve Commissioned Officer grade of First Lieutenant in the US Army (1962), and later served his country during the Vietnam War as a Captain in the Medical Corps from 1965-67. He was chief, general medical service, at the United States Army Medical Center in Okinawa, Japan, where he met his future wife, Etsuko Wagner. They remained happily married until she passed away in 1989. He never remarried.
He practiced medicine in Jersey City for over fifty years from 1967-2018. He was Chief of Electrocardiography at the Jersey City Medical Center from 1970-86, and Medical Director at the Jewish Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for over thirty years. He retired from the practice of medicine in 2018 at the age of 82.
He was also a writer. His academic research papers were published in peer-reviewed journals in the 1960’s, including American Journal of Cardiology, Bulletin of New York Academy of Medicine, Circulation Research, and Investigative Urology. Later in life, he wrote a book of fiction as well as three works of non-fiction. He wrote every day, and was editing the second edition of one of his books when he passed away.
Dr. Wagner was a caring, honest and generous man. He made old-fashioned house calls with his doctor’s bag in the middle of the night. He treated many of his patients without payment, either as a professional courtesy to fellow physicians and their families, or to those who simply could not afford to pay. He gladly accepted home-baked cookies instead. He was never rushed for time, and always willing to listen to a good story, or tell one himself, and so developed real friendships with many of his patients, friendships that lasted for decades. He was respected by colleagues, loved by friends, and especially loved by his family. To his sons, he was a father but also a best friend. He will be missed dearly.