Wayne Morris Douglas

Wayne’s service will be Saturday, October 23, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. The service will be livestreamed and available later from the church’s site at https://www.stmatthewmesa.org/worship/live-broadcast-and-archives/ (scroll down to “Click here for live broadcast”).

Please wear a mask to the service. Due to current church policies about serving food, and to general health concerns, we will NOT have a reception or a receiving line.

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Wayne was a second-generation native Arizonan and was always proud of that fact. He was born in Tucson to Wilmene Risetter Douglas and Irvin “Dick” Douglas, Jr., who loved each other and their newborn son very much. Wayne grew up in Glendale, being a Boy Scout, going to church, scuffling with his younger brothers, enjoying baseball, and working at Bashas’ and the Glendale High bookstore. He was on the honor roll and was particularly fascinated by science and technology. After graduation, he attended the University of Arizona, serving in the Air Force ROTC, getting his pilot’s license, and marrying the girl next door (his high school sweetheart, Suzanne Miller) before earning his bachelor’s degree in accounting. In 1961 Wayne started pilot training at Williams AFB near Chandler, graduating in Class 63-D.

Wayne and Sue moved to Abilene where Wayne flew C-130Es (Troop Carrier) out of Dyess AFB. His duties there included participation in the Indian River and Gold Fire exercises, flying into the Dominican Civil War, and sitting in his plane for two days in Georgia with paratroopers loaded, waiting for the call to drop them over the University of Alabama. He had many TDYs based in Panama, France, and Okinawa (buying souvenirs for his wife wherever he could), then was transferred to CCK Air Base in Taiwan, with regular TDYs in South Vietnam.

After nearly six years in the Air Force, Captain Douglas returned to Arizona and passed his CPA exam. Over the succeeding fifty-two years he worked for Ralston Purina, Henry & Horne (as the partner in charge of electronic data processing), and Richard Yavitt. “Retirement” included a wider range of projects, such as working at Pearson and serving as a pollworker and a Deputy Registrar for the Maricopa County Elections Department. He participated in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, served as a vice president of the Family History Society of Arizona, and was a volunteer photographer for Find a Grave and other organizations. As a teenager, Wayne was a charter member of the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church; as an adult, he joined Saint Matthew United Methodist Church, where he served on church and Conference committees, was a delegate to Annual Conference, and was head usher for many years. He joined Sue in becoming a registered Girl Scout, proudly wearing the trefoil for over fifty years, and was a lifetime member.

Wayne had a wide variety of joys and interests: playing card games, board games, party games, softball, volleyball, basketball, and Frisbee golf; exploring his home state; hiking, camping, geocaching, birdwatching, and amateur photography; drum corps; genealogy, books, Bible study, and logic puzzles; politics, news, and current events; science, astronomy, meteorology, flying, and space travel; Star Trek, Star Wars, Disney pins, Disney movies, Nova, PBS, and late-night TV. He loved the rain, Disneyland, Peanuts, his church, pie, ice cream, steak, meatloaf, cherry chocolate cake, planes (especially his Herky Birds), and spending time with his family. While he was a devoted fan of the Suns, the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals, and the Sun Devils, most of his passion was saved for his beloved Wildcats.

Wayne was proud of his country and his state, of the work he had done and the organizations he had served, but what he was proudest of by far was his children, gleefully describing their accomplishments to anyone who would listen. He built their crib, assembled swingsets and bicycles, and helped with math homework and physics projects; he attended his daughter’s dance recitals and orchestra concerts, and went to his son’s Indian Guides, Cub Scouts, baseball games, football games and track meets. He came to their rescue several times, without complaining, when cars broke down or ran out of gas.

He was impatient, easily frustrated, angry, generous, forgiving, kind, tolerant, and loving. He had a quick mind and a good sense of humor, and would go out of his way to help people. He was a perfectionist and a procrastinator, and while he did have his faults, he was dearly loved and is deeply missed.

Wayne has now rejoined Sue, his wife of 58 years. He is survived by his younger brothers Neil (and Judy), Gordon (and Diana), and Jim (and Dana), and by his son Michael (and Whitney) and daughter Maureen (and Eric).

--Maureen Douglas 10/15/21