Cindy was born in Dearborn, Michigan, on June 12, 1977. Cindy was the last of the children to be had by an incredibly loving mother and father, Jim and Lynne Wagner. Cindy also shares her birthday with her father. Also in the home growing up were two old sisters Laurie and Kristin. They, to this day, are her best friends. Both sisters will joke that Cindy was supposed to be a boy named Andy. After being in this world for one month, the family relocated to Howell, where the whole family grew to love and cherish as their new home. This family of five would eventually, through the years, evolve into a family of 17 through the years.
Growing up, Cindy was quite the tom-girl. You would always find her sporting her navy Detroit Tiger baseball hat. It drove her grandmother crazy because little girls did not wear hats. Well, that didn’t stop Cindy, who was the total opposite of a typical little girl. Cindy enjoyed playing softball and basketball with the recreation department, playing catch with dad in the yard, and showing off dance routines on the trampoline to however many people in the family could get to watch. Cindy enjoyed an audience for any performance, whether it was a sporting event or dance routine. In the 5th grade, she choreographed a routine to the song “Word Up” with her two best friends. They even took this routine to various nursing homes. Little did she know that one of those nursing homes she would perform at would be where she would be employed at a couple of decades down the road.
At the age of 12, Cindy started working on weekends with her mother at a hometown favored restaurant, Silverman’s, as a dishwasher. Little did she know at that time she would spend the next twelve years there trying out various position’s Cindy’s fondest memories were waitressing on midnights and having her beautiful mother relieve her from her shift at 6:30 a.m. Cindy knew exactly how her mother liked the restaurant set up in the morning.
Cindy completed all her schooling in Howell. Throughout middle school and high school Cindy devoted much of her time to Softball and Track. Events she took great pride and earning her varsity letter in was the 100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100 m relay and shot put. After high school, Cindy ventured away from Howell with her close friend and attended school at Central Michigan University. Cindy had a passion for the restaurant industry and thought the best route was Hotel/Restaurant Management. After two years of struggling at the University, it was time for Cindy to pack up and try another route. Cindy was a bit confused and unsure of what she truly wanted to do with her schooling. Over the course of many years, there was a lot of time spent at LCC.
At 21, Cindy met her first husband while working part-time at Silverman’s and going to school. During this era, they had two beautiful daughters, Emily and Courtney. With children in the picture now, school was put on hold. After ten years of marriage, Cindy and her husband divorced. After the divorce, Cindy will always remember her older sister, “You need to do something with your life if you’re going to raise those two girls on your own.” That was the wake-up call Cindy needed.
Cindy started working at MediLodge of Howell in September of 2005, where her older sister also worked as the Rehab manager. She went through the CNA training and landed herself in what would be her favored area of the building on the Secure/Alzheimer’s unit for the next ten years. During this time, Cindy thought maybe Nursing School would be an option. She tried it for a year but missed the cut off to the next course by .5 % and was devastated. Cindy did eventually finish her schooling through December 19, 2015, at Siena Heights with a Bachelor of Arts and transitioned her position to Social Worker at Medilodge.
May 2010, Cindy met Dan, and they married July 30, 2011, at her parent’s lake house in Pentwater, where the family vacationed all through her childhood. Through the years, Cindy and Dan developed a huge passion for bike riding, walking/running, taking the kids on excursions, and going on trips together to Vegas, Chicago, and Mexico.
Cindy and her family, sister’s families, and parents all became active attendees at Community Bible Church in Brighton. All 17 would attend church together every Sunday. Cindy’s family is a very large and hugely important part of Cindy’s life. To this day, they all continue to gather together for Sunday dinners at dad’s house.
In July 2015, Cindy’s mom was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer and lost the battle in November 2017.
“God Doesn’t Give Us What We Can Handle. God Helps Us Handle What We Are Given.”
In June 2017, Cindy’s husband Dan was diagnosed with an aggressive Brain Cancer and passed March 2019.
“I do not wish the pain I have had to endure upon anyone. Losing your mother/best friend and husband within 18 months of each other is a lot of grief for one to carry around. With the help and support from God, my church, my family & friends, and co-workers, they have made this journey a bit easier to walk down”.
Since losing her husband, Dan, to brain cancer, Cindy has had to support four other families at work who have had loved ones with the same brain cancer as Dan did. These cases hit very close to home, but Cindy accepts and supports them with open arms, for she feels this is the path God has led her on.
“I love my job and what I do. I love the relationships I have formed with families. The feeling I get when I receive a thank you and a smile in return from my residents is ultimately priceless.”
Cindy with her sisters, Kristen and Lori.
Cindy with her mother and two daughters, Emily and Courtney.
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