Ernie was born in Los Angeles on November 30. 1935, the first child of Dr. Ernest A. Wagner and Lillie LaVona Wagner. As a young child, he lived in China where his father was a medical missionary for the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Upon their return, the family settled in National City California.
Upon graduation from Pacific Union College in 1957, Ernie followed his love of music to study piano at Indiana University. He left that course of study when he was accepted to medical school at Loma Linda University, graduating as a Medical Doctor in 1962. He completed specialty training at Stanford University and University of Alabama, before beginning private practice in Internal Medicine in Novato, California. In 1969, Dr. Wagner was accepted for additional specialty training in Psychiatry at Yale University. He completed that training in 1973 and established a private practice in Psychiatry in New Haven Connecticut until 1977.
In 1977 Dr. Wagner returned to California, where he joined several other psychiatrists in a successful private group practice. From 1977 until his retirement in 2017, he treated adults and adolescents, both inpatients and outpatients, in Orange County. Over that time, he served as a consultant to the Optimist Boys Home in Los Angeles, Chief of Psychiatry at La Habra Community Hospital, Medical Director for La Paz Geropsychiatric Center in Paramount, and a consulting Psychiatrist to the California Department of Corrections. Toward the end of his career, he joined Caduceus Medical Group in Yorba Linda.
Ernie married his wife, Janice, on August 10, 1980. They moved to Yorba Linda, where they lived for 35 years. Nearing retirement, they moved to Fullerton where they lived until his death. Ernie’s family, his patients, and music meant everything to him. Over the last several years of his life, Ernie’s physical abilities slowly and steadily declined, but his mind remained sharp. He died peacefully at home on April 4, 2024. Ernie is survived by his wife, Janice Wagner, daughters Jennifer McGlone (Dee) and Dr. Allison Bicksler (Tom), grandsons Jasper Bardwick McGlone and Gabriel Bicksler, sisters LaVona Dill and Eloise Aguirre, and brother Douglas Wagner.
There will be a private family remembrance. Should you wish to honor his memory in a tangible way, please make a donation to the charity that is most meaningful to you.
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