Lasting Memories

Sharon C. Wagner
March 23, 1942-May 10, 2009
Palo Alto, California

Sharon C. Wagner, a longtime Palo Alto attorney, educator and volunteer activist died May 10, 2009, following a 15-year battle with cancer.

Wagner was born March 23, 1942, in Bremerton, Wash., where her father was a machine shop foreman in the naval shipyard and her mother was a Navy nurse.

She received BA and MA degrees in political science from the University of Washington in 1964 and 1965 and a law degree in 1977 from Stanford Law School.

Starting in high school she held leadership roles, initially in Girl Scouts and Rainbow Girls. As a college undergraduate she was president of the council that governed women's independent residences, chair of Parents' Day Weekend, a member of the YWCA cabinet and of Mortar Board, a national honor society recognizing college seniors for excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service.

She worked as an analyst with the Washington state Legislature under Sen. Warren Magnuson for a year before moving to Palo Alto to teach government at Cubberley High School. While at Cubberley she co-authored a textbook on American government.

After graduating from law school, she embarked on a 30-year legal career, working in a corporate law practice for three years before establishing a private practice in Palo Alto. She served as leader of Girl Scout Troup 144, mentoring four of 10 young women who achieved their Gold Award, the equivalent of Eagle Scout. Her contributions to Girl Scouts earned her nine awards, including "Outstanding Girl Scout Leader" and a room dedicated in her honor in the Lou Henry Hoover Girl Scout House.

She served on several boards, including Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing and the Palo Alto Parents & Professionals for Arts, and was an active member of the Palo Alto Rotary Club. She was an advocate for equity in education for the arts in Palo Alto schools, and worked to raise funds for the arts and for Juana Briones Elementary School through chamber music concerts at her home. She secured grants from Palo Alto Partners in Education, and helped organize the Italian street-painting fundraiser as part of the annual Palo Alto Street Fair in downtown Palo Alto.

At First Presbyterian Church, she spearheaded projects that combined art and education. She served as project manager for renovating Fellowship Hall, the Youth House and Westminster House, an historic house leased to nonprofit organizations. She recently completed a plan to redesign a small chapel at the church.

She is survived by her husband Tom, her two adult children, Justin and Julia, and her brother, Gordon Craig of Seattle, Wash.