DODGE CITY - Berenice M. Wagner died peacefully Saturday, August 14, 2021 at Manor of the Plains in Dodge City.

Born in 1921 in Bellwood, Nebraska to Jacob and Emma (Vermuelen) Demuth, she grew up on the family farm.  At 17, she left the farm to teach in a one room school in Nebraska. During summers, she attended the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and earned her Bachelor's degree in Education.  She and Gerald E. Wagner were married in Bellwood on June 17, 1950 and lived in Nebraska, Illinois, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma before moving to Dodge City, Kansas in 1965.  Berenice returned to teaching in 1968 at Sacred Heart Catholic School until 1982 when she "retired".  A lifelong volunteer, she gave her time to many organizations in Dodge City, including the hospital, the Manna House food pantry, Miller Elementary School, Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral, and St Monica Guild of the Cathedral Altar Society.  She was a long-time member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).  She loved to quilt, and was a member of Miss Kitty's Quilters. She was an active member of her book club, and she enjoyed her gourmet club. She regularly attended dinner theater and Community Concerts.  She was an avid gardener, and her home was often filled with flowers from her garden.  She enjoyed traveling throughout the US.

Survivors include her five children, Mary Birket (McPherson, KS), Michael (Goddard, KS), Thomas (Boston, MA), Anne (Danville, CA) and Patricia Wagner (Washington, DC) and their families including six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.  She is also survived by two siblings, Sister Emily Demuth C.S.C. (nee Rita Marie) (South Bend, IN) and James Demuth (Aurora, CO).  After a life well-lived she will be missed by family and many friends and neighbors.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, two sisters – Patricia Demuth and Marietta Ricke, and a son-in-law John Harrington.

Vigil services will be at 7:00 pm Friday, August 27, 2021 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dodge City. Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 am on Saturday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral, 3231 N. 14 ^th St., Dodge City. Burial will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery, Dodge City. Visitation will be Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Ziegler Funeral Chapel, Dodge City. The family requests if you plan to attend services to please wear a mask.

The family suggests memorials to Berenice's Pantry – The Manna House, 1012 1 ^st Avenue, Dodge City, KS  67801 or Arrowhead West, 1100 East Wyatt Earp Blvd, Dodge City, KS, 67801.