Obituary of Frances Marie Wagner

Frances Marie ("Fran") Wagner, 93, of Morris Plains, NJ, passed away on July 14, 2023 after a short illness.

Fran was born in 1930 to George J. Wagner and Emilie Marie (Ward) Wagner and grew up in Weehawken, NJ with her three siblings, John ("Joe"), Jane and George, all now deceased, attending Weehawken High School and then Centenary Junior College, in Warren, NJ.

She worked in New York City at Ted Bates, the advertising agency, as an executive secretary and, ultimately a budget director, and lived on the Upper East Side. After discovering that male budget directors were paid substantially more than she was, she left Ted Bates to become assistant to the President of Georg Jensen and work on the opening of its then-new, now gone store on Madison Avenue.

Fran married David Katz in 1973 and left Georg Jensen. Fran and David lived in Mendham, NJ, where she was active in the Garden Club becoming President at one point.

Fran and David were divorced in 1981 and by 1985 Fran had moved to Morris Plains and returned to work as an executive secretary at Warner Lambert/Pfizer.

After retiring, Fran volunteered at a gift shop run by her church, Notre Dame of Mt Carmel, joined a book club and started a lunch group with women she had worked with at Warner Lambert. Having lived in Morris Plains for 38 years, Fran also spent a lot of time with her neighbors and their children and at one point helping out with a set of triplets.

Fran is survived by three nephews and five nieces.

A beloved aunt, neighbor and friend, Fran will be missed by all who knew her. A funeral mass to celebrate Fran's life will be held at Notre Dame of Mt Carmel Church, 75 Ridgedale Ave, Cedar Knolls, NJ on September 8, 2023 at 10:00 am.

Arrangements were under the care of Dangler Funeral Home, Morris Plains.