Hans Wagner

Hans Wagner was born on May 11, 1959 in Laufenburg Switzerland to loving parents Johann Wagner and Doreen Laura Ridgwell Wagner.

Hans led a rich and joyful life, dearly loved by family, friends and colleagues.

Hans came to the United States with his family as a child and grew up in Bridgewater NJ.

He graduated in 1977 from Bridgewater Raritan High School East where he ran track in the spring, was a member of the Ski Club, and earned the high honor of Eagle Scout which forever instilled in him strong leadership skills, a commitment to helping others, and a true moral compass.

With an eye for engineering and mechanical design, Hans attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and graduated in 1984. Following graduation, he completed the elite Outward-Bound program and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), which gave him a lifelong love of the great outdoors and the environment.

Soon after, Hans chose a path of entrepreneurship and became an owner of the famous Steck’s Delicatessen in Bridgewater, NJ where he had worked all through high school and college. Working in the food industry, Hans grew his culinary skills and business acumen.

A decade later Hans moved to Maryland to live closer to his sister Claire and brother-in law Edward and to be closer to his parents who were retired and living in Southport, NC.

Hans’s calling to his true passion in science and the environment drew him to enroll in a Biology class at Hood College in Frederick, MD. Soon thereafter, he applied for an open position in the Biology Department as a lab instructor which then launched a nearly 20-year career at Hood College, culminating as the Biology Department Laboratory Supervisor and Chemical Safety Officer. He was dedicated to the students of Hood College and a devoted mentor and advocate to their higher education and future.

Hans had a home away from home in the Adirondacks of upstate New York, where Hans took many seasonal trips, visiting his sister Heidi, and brother-in-law, Jay, and family. Hans loved to vacation in the Adirondacks where he snowmobiled, was an avid skier, kayaked, hiked, and boated with Heidi’s family on Lake Champlain. Hans made many friends in the Plattsburgh, NY area.

In 2013, Hans met Sharon, the love of his life. From that day forward they shared a love of world travel to locations such as Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Switzerland. They spent weekends antiquing, taking trips to area wineries and driving the Maryland countryside in his Mazda RX 7.

Hans’s dedication to his parents was evident by his loyalty to visit them often. His devotion and love of family was so important to him.

Hans was a great photographer, loved science fiction, history, listening to music, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. Passionate about gardening and botany, he was so proud when he earned his Master Gardener’s certificate. He cared deeply about the environment and the role that all of us need to have to preserve the earth’s resources, wildlife and natural beauty.

Hans was treasured by the people who knew him and he will be missed immensely.

Hans is preceded in death by his mother, Doreen Laura Ridgwell Wagner. He is survived by his partner Sharon Comstock of Laytonsville, MD; his father Johann Wagner of Southport, NC.; two sisters, Claire Wagner Werner and husband Edward of Silver Spring, MD, and Heidi Wagner Danis and husband Jay of Plattsburgh, NY; nephew Graeme Ridgwell Werner, and niece and nephew Rachel Danis and Michael Danis. In Wisconsin and throughout Switzerland he is survived by an extended group of the Wagner family, and across Australia, he is survived by an extended group of the Ridgwell family.

A private family service will be held on March 11, 2021 at 11:00 am at the DeVol Funeral Home in Gaithersburg, MD. The service will be live streamed via webcast HERE

In memory of Hans, the family encourages all family, friends, colleagues and students to join them in the live stream and to share condolences by posting a tribute to the memorial page at the DeVol website - Tribute Wall tab above