Obituary
Dr. Lawrence Thomas Wagers passed away on Friday, May 28, 2021. He was born in Lexington, KY, on July 29, 1940, the son of Dr. Lawrence H. Wagers and Lillian Stephenson Wagers.
Larry grew up in eastern Kentucky and graduated as Valedictorian of his Hazard High School Class of
1957. He studied music and seriously considered a concert piano career, but then followed in his
father’s footsteps and entered pre-med at the University of Kentucky where he was a Phi Sigma
Kappa. Larry earned his MD at Vanderbilt University in 1965.
He returned to UK and began an internship in mixed medicine and pediatrics, and after 1 year was
drafted to serve as a Captain in the US Air Force in Vietnam. He was stationed in the clinics in Cam
Ranh Bay and was then assigned to an Air Force medical team at the provincial hospital in Phan Rang treating civilian Vietnamese and working alongside Vietnamese physicians.
Larry met Nancy Painter, his wife of 52 years, during a tour of Tokyo, Japan in 1967 while taking a
weekend R&R. After his tour of duty in Vietnam he was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base,
Washington, DC, where he tended to wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam at the 10th Casualty
Staging Unit. Larry became interested in the specialty of Dermatology while in Vietnam. He
completed his Dermatology Residency at St. Luke’s Hospital and was a visiting fellow at Columbia
Presbyterian, New York City 1969-1972.
Larry and Nancy moved to Winter Park, FL to begin his 40 year Dermatology practice in 1972. He was President of the Central Florida Society of Dermatology, 1981 and President of the Florida Society of Dermatology 1987-88. Larry was a long-time member of the First Congregational Church of Winter Park serving on numerous boards including the Board of Trustees and Community Outreach. He was a patron of the Arts, namely Opera Orlando and Friends of American Art, at Orlando Museum of Art. He was a steadfast environmentalist. Larry and Nancy enjoyed international travel, especially their spectacular African safari in 1998.
Left to honor his memory are his wife Nancy of Orlando, his daughter Rebecca Beaton and her
husband David, and his granddaughters Lillian, Evelynn and Vivian of Sleepy Hollow, NY.
A private interment will be held at Palm Cemetery, Winter Park. A Celebration of Life service will be
announced at a later date. Donations to honor his life may be made to Orange Audubon Society,
Opera Orlando, Friends of American Art at Orlando Museum of Art.
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