Rebecca Wagner, 76, passed away on September 3, 2026. She was born on January 29, 1950, to Marion Agnew Wagner and Wayne Wagner.
Rebecca grew up in rural Ogden, Illinois in a farming family. The daughter of a farmer and a teacher, she was raised in the close-knit Ogden community that remained an important part of her life until death. She graduated from St. Joseph-Ogden High School before attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She later earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, completing her medical education in Rockford, Illinois, followed by her residency training in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Wagner returned to the Champaign-Urbana community and built an extraordinary career as an obstetrician-gynecologist at Carle Hospital, where she practiced for 35 years. A trailblazer in medicine, she was the first female physician in her field at Carle and in the Champaign community. During her career, she delivered thousands of babies and cared for generations of women and families throughout the area. Her 35 years of service left a lasting impact on her patients, colleagues, and the community she called home.
Rebecca was also a member of Ogden United Methodist Church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Marion and Wayne Wagner. She is survived by her five daughters, Elizabeth Wagner (Duane), Elena Stimmel (Zach), Alexa High (Billy), Abigail Wagner, and Ana Wagner; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by her brother, Chris (Rebecca), and her sister, Elizabeth (Michael).
Rebecca’s life was one of remarkable accomplishments, service, and devotion to her family and community. From her roots in a farming family in Ogden to the thousands of lives she touched through medicine, her legacy will continue through her daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchild, siblings, patients, colleagues, friends, and the many families whose lives she helped bring into the world.
Private funeral services will be held at Freese Funeral Home in St. Joseph, Illinois.
https://www.freesefh.com/obituary/Rebecca-Wagner
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