Samuel Bernard VAGNER

28 OCT 1917 - 18 SEP 2021

• BIRTH: 28 OCT 1917, Alexandria, Rapides, Louisiana
• DEATH: 18 SEP 2021, South Bend, St Joseph, IN

INDEX

[N29678] Dr. Samuel Bernard Vagner
October 28, 1917 - September 18, 2021

South Bend - Dr. Samuel Bernard ("Bernie") Vagner has died of natural causes on Saturday, September 18, 2021, less than six weeks before his 104th birthday. A beloved South Bend physician and surgeon, a survivor of both the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, and witness to over a century of truly remarkable history, Vagner was born in Alexandria, LA on October 28, 1917 to Samuel Benjamin Vagner and Eliza Agnes (Cazeau) Vagner. An only child born 11 years after his parents were married, he freely admitted to being "spoiled rotten," despite his mother's death when he was only 15. Raised in Shreveport,Vagner graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans in 1939 where he was inducted into the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and where he met the love of his life, the late Audrey Louise Elliott, who preceded him in death in 2012. After graduating from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN in 1943 in the top 10% of his class, he and Audrey married and moved to St. Louis, MO where he completed his internship and his surgical residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital and where their first two children, Allan and Karen, were born. In 1949, the family moved to South Bend where Vagner opened his general medical practice and daughter Paula was born. Vagner was called to serve as a Captain in the U.S Army Medical Corps for two years (1952-1954), stationed in Ansbach and Heidelberg in Germany, but then returned to South Bend where daughter Lisa was born. The sixth African-American physician in South Bend but the city's first African-American surgeon, Vagner's first medical office was located above the old Rexall Drugstore at the corner of Washington and Walnut Streets in South Bend until 1963 when he built a new office building at Lincolnway West and Huey Street. Vagner often exasperated his office manager and nurse, as well as many patients who often grew impatient in the waiting room waiting for their names to be called, but each patient ultimately received as much time with him as they felt they needed, leaving the office with not only a stitched-up wound or a prescription, but also with a recipe for authentic Louisiana Gumbo, information on the best fishing spot to catch bluegill, and the comfort of being truly cared for by a doctor they loved equally as a friend. After 28 years of private practice, Vagner's own physician (the late Dr. Eugene Weiss) advised him that the long hours and relentless stress of caring for others was threatening his own health, but Vagner was not ready to give up the profession he loved. Fortunately, he was recruited to work as a staff physician at The University of Notre Dame, tending to students, faculty and athletes alike for another 28 years. His family often said he had "retired……to a 9-to-5 job." A fierce advocate for civil rights, Vagner and his wife were instrumental in the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Ordinance in South Bend. In 2011, Vagner was among the first inductees to the South Bend Heritage Foundation, named a "Trailblazer" who helped pave the way for African-Americans and other minorities in the South Bend area who aspired to professional careers. Later that same year, he was inducted into the South Bend Alumni Association Community Hall of Fame, and a photograph plaque in his honor remains on the wall of the Century Center in downtown South Bend to this day. Additionally, Vagner was the first African-American invited to join the South Bend chapter of Rotary Club International, where he attained a record-setting fifty years of perfect attendance at the club's weekly meetings. Vagner was a true "Renaissance man" with an insatiable interest in the world around him and the people who occupied it. Relentlessly curious, he loved engaging in deep conversations with people and truly lived his belief that every person has a story worth knowing, and is worthy of kindness and respect. Medicine was his professional calling and true passion, but he was equally passionate about his many hobbies which included wine-making, gardening, fishing, cooking, multiple areas of home improvement, and traveling the globe with Audrey. He obsessively loved tools and building materials, stopping to pick up a stray nail or lag screw found on the ground in the certainty that "I can use this for something." He loved barbecuing a rack of ribs for friends, staring out the kitchen window with a smile on his face while savoring the beauty of the yard and gardens that he and Audrey lovingly tended, and telling the occasional off-color joke with a twinkle in his eye. He cherished his visits to the barber shop where he was treated like royalty and reminded of the medical care provided to, and babies delivered from the wives of, the many fellow patrons there. Even trips to the grocery store or gas station meant frequent stops to respond to delighted shouts of "Dr. Vagner!" from former patients, followed by long hugs and occasional tears of deep affection. In short, Vagner's passing has left a huge hole in the fabric of South Bend, but also many cherished memories of those who knew him well and loved him dearly. Vagner is survived by his four aforenoted children, daughter-in-law Angie (Allan) Vagner, son-in-law George (Karen) Thompson, grandsons George Robert (Saori) and Christopher (Wendy) Thompson, and great-granddaughters Ginger and Jupiter Thompson. A private inurnment has already occurred at South Bend's Riverview Cemetery, but a Celebration of Life service is being planned by the family in his honor for late October, details to follow. Tributes to Dr. Vagner may be left online at www.Palmerfuneralhomes.com. Palmer Funeral Homes - Welsheimer North Chapel is assisting with arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations in Vagner's name are welcomed to either Xavier University (https:// www.xula.edu) or Meharry Medical College (https://home.mmc.edu).
Posted online on September 25, 2021