Robert J. Wagner, 66, a patent lawyer who traveled the world to license a process for making a key component of polyester fabric and other chemicals, died Saturday, June 22, in Christ Hospital and Medical Center, Oak Lawn, of complications after heart surgery. Mr. Wagner worked in Chicago almost 30 years at Amoco Corp. and its antecedents. Trained in petroleum engineering and the law, he licensed ways of making chemicals to firms in several countries, including Japan, Russia, Romania and Brazil. Former colleagues said Mr. Wagner’s people skills opened doors. “[He] had very deep relationships with not only co-workers but people on the other side of the table,” said Frank Sroka, the chief U.S. patent counsel at BP, which acquired Amoco. Mr. Wagner lived for 26 years in Flossmoor and later moved to Frankfort. He liked to play golf and jokingly told his children tall tales about playing third-string quarterback on the New York Giants, said his son, Robert. He is also survived by his wife, Margaret; three daughters, Patty Springer, Jennifer and Erika; two other sons, William and Kevin; and nine grandchildren. A funeral prayer service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Tews Funeral Home, 18230 S. Dixie Highway, Homewood, followed by mass at 11 a.m. in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 7659 W. Sauk Trail, Frankfort.
