Grace Wagner died gracefully Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at American House, Oak Park, Illinois.

Grace Svanhild Vold was born in Clark, South Dakota to John and Bernice (Hogstad) Vold. Her father was a Lutheran Pastor to four congregations in the area and Grace, like all of her six siblings was baptized and confirmed in the tradition of the Norwegian Lutheran Church. Upon the death of her mother when Grace was thirteen she and her older siblings were sent to Oak Grove School, a residential school in Fargo, North Dakota. She worked in the cafeteria, played basketball and graduated from high school there.

After high school, as was customary at the time and especially in her family, Grace returned to the family home to begin a lifetime of service, caring for her brother Paul, who was born with developmental disabilities. She spent 4 years being the primary caretaker for Paul, with him, singing and playing. She was encouraged by her father along the way, with saying to her, "You are going to get out of here." – meaning there is more for you out there beyond this home, this place, this role.

She was freed from the role to go to college at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. While there she met, was courted by and then married Willard Wagner on June 6th, 1958. Upon Willard's graduation they moved to St. Paul, where he attended Luther Seminary and Grace worked as a typist and secretary.

Grace poured herself into a life of service all along the way; as a Pastor's wife to Will at a church and congregation in Manistee, Michigan, as a loving mother of four, as a homemaker, as a Crossing Guard at the elementary school down the street from the family home in Prospect Heights, Illinois, in Stephen's Ministry at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and with multiple families with children she loved as she did her own. Grace truly loved babies, college basketball, reading, and had a wonderfully clear, if understated singing voice. Her primary ministry, embodied in her love of babies and children, was her tender loving care, balanced by a resilient toughness she earned throughout her life.

Grace is survived by her husband Will, their oldest son, Tom and his wife Jeannie, Marquette, Michigan; oldest daughter, Mari and her husband Geoff, Oak Park, Illinois; younger son John, Boulder, Colorado; and younger daughter, Becca and her partner Noel, Oak Park, Illinois; her brother Dave Vold, Hatton, North Dakota; as well as six children, Zach, Eric, Tracey, Sinclair, Jordyn, and Devin, and two great grand-children, Julia and Ivan (Zach and Erica's children in Duluth, Minnesota).

She was preceded in death by her parents, as well as sisters and brothers, Lois, Connie, Paul, Joe and Harold.

A memorial visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 beginning at 9:30 a.m. until time of service at 10:30 a.m. at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 1234 N. Arlington Heights, Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Holy Family School, 3415 W Arthington St, Chicago, IL 60624, https://hfm.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/61889/Default.aspx , or Oak Grove Lutheran School, 124 N Terrace N, Fargo, ND 58102, https://www.givecampus.com/schools/OakGroveLutheranSchool . Funeral care provided by G.L. Hills Funeral Home. For information please call (847) 699-9003.