Dr. Philip Wagley,

a retired dentist and career Army officer who served in three wars, died Sunday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at the Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. He was 86.
Dr. Wagley was born and raised in Columbia, Pa. He earned his bachelor's and dental degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

He served with the Army Dental Corps during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, at military posts and bases in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

He was a colonel at the time of his 1970 discharge, and his decorations included the Army Commendation Medal and Legion of Merit.

Dr. Wagley moved to Baltimore and enrolled at what is now the Bloomberg School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a master's degree in public health.

From 1973 until retiring a second time in 1983, Dr. Wagley was an associate professor of prosthodontics at the University of Maryland Dental School.

The 31-year resident of Crofton, who had lived at the Towson retirement community since 2002, was a member of the American Diabetes Association, Military Retired Officers Association and the American Legion.

He was also a member of the alumni associations of the University of Pennsylvania and Hopkins.

His wife of 26 years, the former Ann Elizabeth Baird, died in 1997. An earlier marriage to the former Philomene Kauffman ended in divorce.

Dr. Wagley was a communicant of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Towson, where a Mass of Christian burial was offered yesterday.

Surviving are a son, Joseph P. Wagley of Derry, N.H.; a daughter, Karen B. Wagley of Prescott, Ariz.; a stepdaughter, Barbara J. Smith of Lancaster, Pa.; three grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.