On Sunday, February 17, 2019, Estelle Ogletree Wagnon, loving wife and mother of three sons, passed away gently and peacefully in the presence of family at age 83 following a prolonged decline in health. She is survived by her beloved husband Wayne, her three sons, Andrew Wayne Wagnon, William Frederick Wagnon and his wife Amy, and Bruce Benjamin Wagnon and his wife Cindy; her brothers Clyde Ogletree of Norcross, Georgia and George Ogletree of Lake Worth, Florida; four grandchildren, Megan, Erin, Brittany and Justin; four great-grandchildren, and several cousins, nieces and nephews. Preceding her from this world were her brothers Ben, Watson and Vernon Ogletree, and sisters Annie Ogletree Lyle and Sophie Ogletree Drane.
Estelle was born June 11, 1935 in Taliaferro County, Georgia to Benjamin Addie Ogletree, Sr. and Pearl Jones Ogletree. She was one of their eight children. She attended Crawfordville Academy/Alexander Stephens Institute and graduated with honors from Union Point High School in 1953, where she was also a standout on the women’s basketball team.
After graduation she moved to Macon, Georgia where she became a legal secretary and later the office manager for a group of attorneys.
Estelle met Wayne on a blind date arranged by his cousin, dated for two years, and married in 1955, soon thereafter moving to Huntsville, Alabama where Wayne was employed as an aerospace engineer.
Over the next six years she became a mother to three distinctly different boys–Andy, Bill and Bruce–each providing unending challenges, frequent frustrations, and the occasional points of pride that made it all bearable. On top of all that parenting, she was an involved member of whatever community she joined, whether it was supporting the campaign of local political candidates she liked, or volunteering her time to support various school and civic programs. She was an active member of her church who enjoyed teaching children and engaging in mission work.
After rearing her sons, she attended Calhoun Community College and Athens State University in her successful drive to become an accredited nurse, though the rigors of the job ultimately proved to be too trying for one as tender-hearted as she.
Estelle was artistically gifted and dabbled in several hobbies throughout her life. She loved to paint in oils and watercolor, and even taught china painting for a few years in her own studio. And she was talented with textiles as well: sewing, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint and quilting all passed through her skillful hands.
A voracious lover of the printed word, Estelle read thousands of books in her lifetime. She loved to curl up with a good spy novel and always traveled with the latest popular book to pass the time.
An animal lover who raised and loved her fair share of dogs and cats, she often took in strays that were lucky enough to wander into her life and become part of the family.
And lastly, Estelle was blessed with a beautiful singing voice that she often shared from pews, from choir lofts, and most memorably, from the kitchen while cooking dinners.
She loved her husband, her sons and daughters-in-law, her brothers and sisters and all their families. She will be greatly missed and warmly remembered.
The family thanks the staff of Hospice of the Valley and Riverside Senior Living for the kindness and loving care they provided during this time of need. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests honoring her by donating to a worthy charitable organization.
