GALION, Ohio — Recently honored for his 60 year law career, John L. Wagner grew up in a poor home in Sandusky, Ohio. He and his four siblings worked full time jobs through high school just to help his family survive through tough financial times.
Wagner said he worked third shifts to stock shelves in a food store and then went to school for the day.
“My father was a drinker. We lived in a two-bedroom apartment for $10 a month. Half the time he didn’t have it,” remembered Wagner.
His peers didn’t see the same need to work; in fact, most of his friends were sons of doctors and lawyers. So in the eleventh grade, young Wagner decided he wanted to be a lawyer.
“My motives weren’t really noble. I just wanted to do better than my family,” said Wagner.
After high school he attended Bowling Green’s law school. But his plans to graduate were soon stalled when he was drafted into the United States Army, active duty. He was soon shipped to South Korea.
There he spent 10 months in combat. He survived many battles, one of which he remembers carrying a fellow comrade back to camp who had been shot and killed in a skirmish. For the last four years he worked on writing a book on his experience in South Korea entitled, “Boomerang Ridge” — the place he was wounded from flying shrapnel, and ultimately the battle that sent him home.
“I was hit in the back, wrist and elbow. It was shrapnel from mortar rounds — I’m actually 30 percent disabled … according to the army,” said Wagner. Because of his accident, he was sent to a hospital and soon was honorably discharged and given a Purple Heart. He entered the army as a private and left as a Staff Sergeant.
“I’m proud that I was able to do that, not really at the time; I just did what I was told to do,” said Wagner.
When he got back to the United States as a civilian, he finished law school. He graduated from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1955 and started practicing later that year.
He soon found that being a lawyer was his passion.
Shortly after he began practicing law in Crawford County, he married his wife, Charlene. Together they had five children, one of which became a lawyer and now heads Wagner Law Firm in Galion.
Over the years Wagner was inducted into the Crawford County Bar Association, served as the last Justice of Peace in Crawford County, Galion City Solicitor, and as Crawford County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. Wagner retired in June, 2015, handing over his practice in Galion to his son, Jay.
Recently, the Crawford County Bar Association recognized Wagner for his storied career as a lawyer in Galion.
Secretary for the Crawford County Bar Association Robert Clark Neff Jr. said he has never met a lawyer that has been in practice for 60 years. Neff himself has practiced law for 19 years.
In a separate interview, Neff commented on Wagner’s endurance as a lawyer. He remembered a time in Wagner’s fiftieth year as a lawyer when he tried a jury trial — one of the most physically demanding trials for a lawyer, he said.
“They’re (jury trials) multiple days long. You don’t sleep very much leading up to the case or during. You can’t think of anything else,” said Neff. He explained that many lawyers choose not to try jury trials when they get older. “Wagner isn’t one of those people.”
Wagner only defended two murder cases, what he referred to as high profile cases, in his career. With both, he was able to reduce the punishment to “manslaughter” instead of “murder,” a more severe punishment.
“And you don’t even want to hear about all the divorce cases. Some of those were strange,” he said with a smile.
In all of his 60 years as a lawyer, Wagner can still remember the nights he would bolt up from his bed, remembering a critical detail for a case. He learned to be ready for these mid-night disturbances by keeping a pen and notepad by his bed.
“I remember the stress and worry about a client’s welfare,” said Wagner.
“It’s just part of being a lawyer,” he added casually.
Wagner acccepts praise with humility. When he was told he was recognized, he gave an inconspicuous shrug.
“I’m not big on that kind of stuff. I guess I don’t receive praise very well,” he said. With a moment’s pause, however, he added, “It was nice of those guys. It’s a terrific bar association. I don’t know one lawyer that is unethical. I appreciate it.”
