“My punctuation and wording are correct! Don’t let the funeral director alter anything, please. I was a qualified grammarian.”
Wendy Sue Wagner, age 71, died on Monday, May 25, 2026 in Kouts, Indiana. She was born on Saturday, September 4, 1954, in Kendallville, Indiana, the first child of parents Carol Dee (Marks) and Richard Henry Wagner. A 1972 graduate of Carroll High School (Fort Wayne), she earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education in 1977 from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and a master’s degree of liberal arts from Valparaiso University in 1980.
In August 1977 she moved to Kouts, Indiana, to begin her thirty-seven year career at Kouts Middle/High School, teaching literature, grammar, speech, and geography to students in grades seven through twelve. She served as a cheerleader/pep club sponsor, student council sponsor, and National Honor Society advisor during her tenure. The faculty, staff, and students at Kouts School were dear to her heart. She counted among her greatest blessings the continued contact with some students as they moved into adulthood and had families and careers of their own. In some cases, she taught three generations of the same family.
For over forty years, Wendy served as the secretary, and then secretary-treasurer, of the Kouts High School Memorial Scholarship Fund. She endowed her own scholarship on the twentieth anniversary of her 7-7-77 hiring at Kouts.
Her parents and niece-in-law Samantha Wagner preceded her in death. She is survived by her brother Robert (Leanne) Wagner who so wonderfully shared their children with her: her beloved nephews and nieces-in-law, Landon (Amy) Wagner; Austin (Andrea) Wagner; and Ben (Kate) Wagner, along with great-nieces Ayla, Claire, and Evie Wagner and great-nephews Maylan, Harris, Hudson, Remington, and William Wagner, and Zeke Hyser.
Memorial Gathering will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2026 from 10:00-11:00 AM at St. Paul Lutheran Church 507 S. Rose Street, Kouts, Indiana, where Wendy had been a member since 1978, with a Memorial Service beginning at 11:00 AM. Cremains will be interred at Perry Township Cemetery, Huntertown, Indiana.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Kouts High School Memorial Scholarship Fund/Wendy Sue Wagner Memorial Scholarship at P.O. Box 699; Kouts, Indiana 46347.
GUESTBOOK
Ms. Wagner was a dynamic person and force! She was well respected by students, staff, parents, and the Kouts community. I loved her wit and wisdom, and aspired to be half the teacher she was! Her skill with puzzles was unmatched! Ms. Wagner was a true blessing. My condolences to her family. She will be greatly missed. -Rebecca Lake-Witkowski
Wendy will always have a place in my heart as she spent many months, weeks and days, encouraging and explaining to me and reminding me to stay focused, cause if I didn't, well I would be back to do it again, she had an amazing passion for teaching even for challenges such as I. Case # 1984 She will be missed for sure. -David Krug
I was deeply saddened to hear of your passing. It was always a pleasure having you in my chair and getting to know you over the years. You will be truly missed. My heartfelt condolences to your family and loved ones. I will greatly miss our talks of flowers, cooking and baking. You touched so many lives. Your memory will go on in those you have so positively influenced. -Mallorie Hanchar
My sympathies to Wendy's family and friends. Wendy taught each of my children and was a very gifted and talented teacher, and a sweet person! She was on top of re-ordering my son's graduation cap, gown, and invitations after our house fire! She just radiated kindness! -Jane Witkowski
Miss Wendy will be dearly missed. I feel so grateful to have not only had her as a teacher, but as a neighbor. I am lucky to have gotten to continue to know her and spend time with her after graduation, spending time chatting or having me over to teach me how to cook. Even as in person chats changed to emails and texts through Covid and moving out of state, you could always count on her checking in, as well as always timely birthday/anniversary cards in the mail! She was such a wonderful person to know, and I will truly miss her. -Madison O'Dea
So sorry for your loss, She tutored me one year. -Ron Witkowski
