Robert M. Wagner, owned businesses
Robert McLain Wagner, 63, of Downingtown, owner of three flooring and carpet stores, who looked like Steve McQueen, was a big fan of Elvis and often dressed like Willie Nelson when he sang for friends, died Saturday of a pulmonary embolism at Devon Manor, where he had been for two days.
Robert McLain Wagner, 63, of Downingtown, owner of three flooring and carpet stores, who looked like Steve McQueen, was a big fan of Elvis and often dressed like Willie Nelson when he sang for friends, died Saturday of a pulmonary embolism at Devon Manor, where he had been for two days.
Mr. Wagner played basketball at Downingtown High School, where his future bride, Dianne McDermott, was the saucy cheerleader captain.
He fell head over heels and asked her out. Mr. Wagner thought the first date went swell, but she turned him down the second time. "After all, she was a cheerleader, way beyond my reach," Mr. Wagner wrote in his two-volume self-published book of life vignettes,
Fuzzy Side Up, I and II
.
They married in 1967, three years after graduation.
For a few years, Mr. Wagner supported his family selling correspondence courses for La Salle College. This required long trips away from his young family.
"When I was 2 years old, I threw a fit when he was leaving for an extended trip, so he quit that job on the spot," said son Matthew. "He then sold carpets door-to-door in Downingtown to feed us."
At first, Mr. Wagner struggled. He cut carpets on his driveway and operated the business out of his garage.
Soon he moved Bob Wagner's Mill Carpet to his father's old grocery store, which was the "size if a closet," his son said.
"With grit, hard work and a sense of humor, his business grew to three stores headquarters in Downingtown, and the others in West Chester and Middletown, Del. Over the years, he employed anywhere from 50 to 100 people at a time."
Mr. Wagner was a sight to behold when he wore multi-colored leg warmers and dyed his gray hair bright banana yellow to entertain customers.
Mr. Wagner loved Downingtown and it loved him back except for hunters. "Our home backed up to a wooded area, and my father hated hunters to kill deer," his son said. "During the season, he rigged up loud speakers blaring 'Born Free' to scare away the deer."
After his wife died of cancer in 1998, Mr. Wagner sold copies of his book and donated the money to the American Cancer Society.
In addition to his son, Mr. Wagner is survived by four other sons, Zachary and Joshua Wagner, Hung Vu and Thang Vu; 11 grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.
Friends may visit at 6 p.m. today at Ralston & Bredickas Funeral Home, 107 W. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, and at noon tomorrow at Hopewell United Methodist Church, 852 Hopewell Rd., Downingtown. A funeral service will follow.
Donations may be sent to the American Cancer Society, 1615 West Chester Pike, Suite 102, West Chester, Pa. 19382.