Gail Wagner Obituary

On the evening of November. 20, 2024, in Lexington County, South Carolina, the world lost a brilliant mind, Dr. Gail Elaine Wagner, age 71. Gail was Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina and a respected paleoethnobotanist - one of the few in the Southeast.

Born February. 27, 1953, in Dayton, Ohio, Gail was a very curious and active child who devoured books and loved to explore. She attended Fairmont West High School in Kettering, Ohio, where she ran cross country and did several track and field events. She played the viola for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. She graduated cum laude from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1975 with her B.A. from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She received her M.A. from the Department of Anthropology in 1978 from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where, in her spare time, she again ran cross country and played the viola for the St. Louis Philharmonic, and she earned her Ph.D. in 1987 from Washington University's Department of Anthropology.

In her early career, Gail helped excavate, research and reconstruct a thirteenth century Fort Ancient village and native garden at SunWatch in Dayton, Ohio. She replicated some of the gardening and storage techniques, including cross-pollination of corn by hand. She also was an educator and principal investigator for the Center of American Archeology in Kampsville, Illinois, in the 1980s.

Gail joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina in 1989. She was a devoted professor for 32 years who loved teaching her undergraduate and graduate students, and they loved her. She mentored 455 undergraduate students through gathering original research on five ethnobotanical projects focused on interrelationships between people and plants in South Carolina. Gail received several teaching and archeological grants and wrote many reviews. She was a popular and engaging speaker, and organized symposia and workshops. She was active in several professional societies and boards and held offices in: The Society for Economic Botany; The South Carolina State Board of Review, National Register of Historic Places; the South Carolina Heritage Trust; the University of South Carolina Chapter of Sigma Xi; the Society for American Archaeology; American Anthropological Association, Archaeological Society of South Carolina; and Society of Ethnobiology. Gail received many honors throughout her professional life, most recently the South Carolina Governor's Award in Humanities in 2022 and the Distinguished Ethnobiologist Award by the Society of Ethnobiology in 2019.

Gail co-directed the Wateree Archaeological Research Project. It is a large mound/town located in central South Carolina. Excavations at this site and other sites on the property have been initiated and supported by the owners of the property.

In private life, Gail adored her horses, dogs, and cats. She is survived by her beloved dog Cocoa, and cats T.T. and Joey. Gail remained an avid reader and she most likely had a jigsaw puzzle on her table. She enjoyed her large circle of good friends who shared her interests. Her biggest passion was spending time in her garden at her home. She loved to share her seeds, vinegars and flowers with friends and family. Her excitement about their unique qualities was contagious. Gail loved to travel both professionally and personally, with her most recent trips being to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Asheville, North Carolina, New Zealand, and Hawaii.

Gail was preceded in death by her parents George and Dolores Wagner of Kettering, Ohio, her two eldest sisters and their husbands, Sue and Dave Steele of Circleville, Ohio, and Ruth and Jerry Winters of Troy, Ohio.

She is survived by two sisters, Sarah Jaehn of Palm Harbor, Florida; and Lynne Wagner of Oxford, Ohio; ten nieces and nephews and their families; her best friend Patti Shwartz of Silverthorne, Colorado; and a community of other dear family and friends.

Contributions may be made to the memory of Dr. Gail E. Wagner:

Wateree Archeological Research Foundation

2118 Robin Road

Columbia, SC 29204