Funeral Service for Former Fire Chief

The community is mourning after the loss of one of its own.

Family and friends gathered Saturday morning for the funeral service of William Wagner, 82, who was a former fire chief for the city of Zanesville. He retired in 1986 after 33 years of service.

Wagner passed away on Wednesday at the Genesis Good Samaritan Hospital.

"I use to be the president for the Muskingum County Fireman’s Association and Chief Wagner was one of the first, well actually the first person from the city of Zanesville to come out and attend the meetings on a regular basis," said Wayne Township Fire Chief Don Alexander.

Alexander says that Wagner was the first city fire chief to sign a county wide mutual aid agreement and was very instrumental in ensuring that the firefighters had the best equipment. Above all else, he says he was a great guy.

"He was always a ball of fun when he was at the county meetings, he always had stories to tell, things that happened, it was an exciting time when Wag showed up because he had good things to tell us," said Alexander.

Wagner was laid to rest at the Zanesville Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Animal Shelter Society of Muskingum county on Newark Road.