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Louis “Louie” Carl Wagner Jr. passed away peacefully while holding the hands of his family at his home on May 17, 2026, at the age of 84. He enjoyed a life full of family, fun, hunting, fishing, travel and gardening until just weeks before his passing due to a brief and sudden illness.
Louie was born in Walla Walla, Washington, on May 4, 1942, to Louis Carl Sr. and Dorothy (Harding) Wagner. Many family members who grew up with him knew him as “Pete,” and many still call him that to this day. It was no surprise that his oldest child was named Peter, occasionally resulting in moments of confusion at family gatherings over the years.
It was in Walla Walla where Pete grew up listening to Elvis Presley, excelling in high school baseball and football, being active in student government, participating in ROTC and always working, usually at the local Safeway or at a farm owned by relatives. Although allowed to work at a very young age in that era, union rules required him to work at a different Safeway than the one managed by his father, who retired after 30 years with the company. Throughout his youth, fishing, hunting and the outdoors in general were a significant part of his life.
After graduating from Walla Walla High School in 1960, Louie attended Pacific Lutheran University, graduating cum laude in 1963 from what was then Pacific Lutheran College. It was during these years that he married (Eleanor) Anne Clancy, with whom he would have four children: Peter, Mike, and twins Amy and Andy.
Louie then attended the University of Washington School of Dentistry, graduating in 1967. During his four years there, he received academic excellence awards each year and was inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon upon graduation. He had the privilege of serving two years in the Army at Fort Hood, Texas, where he worked as a dentist. As luck would have it, the Vietnam War ended and Louie, now an Army captain, was honorably discharged.
Returning to the Northwest, Louie attended the orthodontic program at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry in Portland, then known as the University of Oregon Dental School. Completing the program in 1971, he settled in Chehalis with his young family to open the area’s first orthodontic practice, initially sharing office space with Dr. Richard Tausch.
As demand grew in the underserved area, he partnered with Dr. John Henrickson and Dr. Larry Wogman to build the present-day Chehalis Professional Building. Louie actively practiced orthodontics for 24 years before proudly turning over the reins to his eldest son, Peter.
Louie was dedicated to his family, profession and community. As an orthodontist, he helped countless people gain confidence in their smile and themselves — a life-altering gift for so many. He was highly active in the Adna Lions Club, serving as one of its founding members and participating in countless projects, including the legendary Adna Lions Clam and Corn Feed and the development of the ballfields at Back Memorial Park.
As a father, he was always present for his children’s athletic and academic endeavors. No sooner had those years passed than he was enthusiastically attending events for his grandchildren and later his great-grandchildren. Family was always the center of Louie’s life.
His interests were many, and he took great joy in sharing them with family and friends. He passed on his love for God, the outdoors, gardening, travel, food and wine, fine art, investing, thoroughbred racehorses and philanthropy. He was a longtime member of St. John's Lutheran Church. For years, Louie held front-and-center season tickets to the The 5th Avenue Theatre. He approached life with enthusiasm, curiosity and joy.
It didn’t matter the day. If Louie wasn’t headed to the unnamed river at 0-dark-30 hours to claim his favorite salmon or steelhead fishing hole before anyone else, he was up before most sane people to watch the stock market open. Whether tending a perfectly manicured garden and orchard or adding another bottle to a wine cellar filled with treasures from around the world, he approached life’s pleasures with the same care and attention to detail. And wherever he went, he never arrived empty-handed.
If you happened to arrive at mealtime, you would have undoubtedly found yourself sharing one of his handmade German family recipes passed down through generations of his German-Russian heritage. Following the meal, there was often the opportunity to admire one of the many fine paintings, bronze sculptures or winner’s-circle photographs from his racehorses that adorned his home.
Louie’s travels carried him throughout Asia, Europe, North America and South America — literally around the world. Yet no matter where he went, Louie remained the same cheerful, humble and generous person.
Louie not only made people smile through his work; he made people smile wherever he went with his genuine cheerfulness and joy for life. People were always excited to see Louie, and he was always excited to see them. Whenever he walked into a room, joyful shouts of “LOUIEEE!” often followed.
His giving nature was matched only by an uncommon humility. Upon receiving praise for an accomplishment or act of generosity, his typical response was always, “Oh geez,” never entirely comfortable being the center of attention.
Louie is survived by his younger sister, Sharon (Rod) Gilge; and his four loving children, Peter (Julie) Wagner, Mike (Kim) Wagner, Andy (Julie) Wagner and Amy (Rob) Larson. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Tucker Wagner and Paiton (Nick) Mandelis; Cooper (Caroline) Larson; Paige and Tanner Wagner; and Peter (Abbey), Parker (Tara) and Nolan (Rochelle) Wagner. The lineage continues with eight great-grandchildren: Elijah, Hudson, Roman, Evangeline, Noah, Dylan, Gracelyn and Vincent.
His presence will be greatly missed by his family and the community as a whole. We suspect that Jesus won’t mind watching Louie catch all the fish on their outings together. And if He does, He’ll probably just have to smile and accept it, just as everyone else did who ever shared a riverbank, boat or fishing hole with Louie over the last 84 years.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Rose Bowman Banquet Hall at Centralia College, 600 Centralia College Blvd., Centralia. All who were a part of Louie’s life are invited by the Wagner family to attend. Lunch will be served onsite.
