History of the Dan Wagner event

Obituary: Dan Wagner / Angler, environmentalist, mechanical engineer

Feb. 28, 1934-Jan. 16, 2008 DEBORAH WEISBERG / JAN 22, 2008 12:00 AM

When North Hills families fish in the annual derby at North Park Lake May 17, they will pay posthumous tribute to the angler and environmentalist who helped found the popular event 10 years ago. Dan Wagner, 73, president of the Allison Park Sportsmen's Club and a mentor to generations of outdoorsmen, died Wednesday at Allegheny General Hospital, following surgery to correct cranial bleeding he suffered at his Shaler home Jan. 13. Following funeral services at Glenshaw Valley Presbyterian Church Saturday, members of the sportsmen's club, which Mr. Wagner served as president for the past 11 years, decided to rename the derby the Dan Wagner Memorial Kids Fishing Day. "He got so many kids involved in fishing and in caring about the outdoors," said Lee Scott Stauffer of Shaler, secretary of the club. "It was Dan who scheduled our annual cleanup on Pine Creek and up into North Park. Dan arranged for the trout stockings. He made things happen." Mr. Wagner grew up along Pine Creek and fished and hunted all his life. When he retired as a mechanical engineer from Westinghouse Air Brake, with 10 patents to his name and one pending, he had even more time to devote to conservation. He worked with Trout Unlimited and the Pine Creek Watershed Committee to help with water sampling and other projects, said his nephew and occasional fishing buddy, Don Wagner of Shaler. "He was a good guy to have on a committee because he knew that stream so well; he knew where the pollution was. He also had a great way with people, with getting their support," his nephew said. It was Mr. Wagner's knack for engaging children in the outdoors that made his daughter Mary Lynn Olgin most proud. "Starting that derby was one of the first things he did when he became president of the association," said Ms. Olgin, of Altamonte Springs, Fla. He focused especially on children who couldn't afford their own equipment or didn't have someone to teach them. Mr. Wagner was a Mason, a Shriner and an Army veteran. Besides his daughter, Mr. Wagner is survived by his wife, Mary; a son, Dan Jr. of Moon; brothers Donald of Shaler and Richard Wagner of Hampton; a sister, Janet Brantley of Monroe, La.; and three grandchildren. First Published: January 22, 2008, 12:00 a.m.