Wayne Stanley Baxley
June 7, 1947 - February 26, 2016
Wayne Stanley Baxley of Granite Bay, CA went to be with the Lord on Friday, February 26, 2016. Wayne was born on June 7, 1947 in Augusta, Georgia to his parents Juanita Ezell Baxley and Ralph Stanley Baxley.
He is survived by his sister, Bonnie Hope Gonzalez, and her husband, Tom Gonzalez, Roseville, CA; one son and daughter-in-law, David Wayne Baxley and Jennene Nicole Baxley, Sacramento, CA; one daughter, Nissa Cherie Baxley Hopkins, Lake Mary, FL; one grandson, Liam Thornton Hopkins, and two granddaughters, Kara Renee Baxley and Natalie Nicole Baxley. He was married twice, to Julie Elaine Beach Mascia, the mother of his children, and to Michiko Yamashita, who preceded him in death; she was the mother of his step-children, Yuko, Yukio, and Yuki Yamashita. He is also survived by Barbara Clayton Drysdale, his long-term companion and caregiver. Additionally, he is survived by many life-long friends and colleagues, all of whom he treasured dearly.
Wayne lived a rich life, full of adventure and productivity. He had many interests, many talents, and many careers. He was an artist, a musician, a statistician, a code-breaker, a veteran, a business owner, a teacher, a technology pioneer, an ordained minister, a father and grandfather, and a brilliant, matchless wit. He was quick and hilarious, full of knowledge, puns, and answers. He had an amazing, truly photographic memory, and you could see the amused twinkle in his eyes when he would display this acuity to the astonishment of others. He played trombone and piano flawlessly and with passion, and he was a deeply devoted intellectual who relentlessly searched for truth and clarity in all matters temporal and metaphysical. He knew more about baseball statistics than any computer, and he had a killer pitching arm. He composed glorious music. He was one-of-a-kind, and he will be sorely missed.
Born in Georgia and raised in Florida, Wayne enjoyed many good times with his large extended family in his childhood. While in high school, he worked during the summers in Cocoa Beach, Florida, for his father, Ralph Stanley Baxley, a mortician, and he was proud of this service. He also remembered this time fondly as this is when he and his dear musician friends from his teenage years formed the trombone group, “The Great Eight”. They even recorded an album together. They remained close and in contact for the whole of their lives.
While attending college at North Texas State University, Wayne played trombone in the prestigious “One O’Clock” Lab Band and recorded an album with jazz legend, Urbie Green.
Music was his abiding passion; he worked enthusiastically to help consolidate and make available the musical works of great classical composers, including Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Vivaldi, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns, and Tchaikovsky, to name a few, as well as jazz composers such as Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, Zez Confrey, Fats Waller, Luckey Roberts, and Tom Turpin. He was a member of the American Federation of Musicians, and he worked vigorously to promote live performance of music. His original compositions, primarily performed on the piano, were a delight to family, friends and audiences in Northern California and beyond.
Wayne served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, first as an intelligence analyst for the NSA (National Security Agency), then as a bandsman, serving as Staff Arranger. For both positions, Wayne made significant contributions, for which he was recognized and awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for outstanding achievement. He also won a Thomas Jefferson Award for his composition work for the Air Force; this award was part of a special category Grammy Award, and of this, he was very proud.
As an avid photography enthusiast, Wayne founded and was a co-owner of Camera World of Anchorage, a business which sponsored local Alaskan photographers by hosting a monthly gallery. He loved living in Alaska, and many of his award-winning photographs were of the stunning natural beauty of the surrounding landscape he loved so much.
Wayne was a multitalented artist, and he created original artwork called "Metagraphs”. Additionally, he enjoyed restoring rare and damaged antique artwork and was proud to have co-authored a book with David Beach; this book included more than 1,200 images. Wayne’s most recent endeavor was to provide counseling services and writings on world philosophies and various religions, and in leading the world-wide discussion group, Ta Ahura, he wrote and shared thousands of articles on both topics.
Wayne was educated and erudite. Some of his credentials include: 36 Philoreligio titles by the ULC Seminary, a Bachelor’s Degree of Music Performance, a Bachelor’s Degree of Divinity, a Master’s Degree of Divinity, and Honorary Doctorate of Divinity. He read and self-educated tirelessly, even learning to read, write, and speak Japanese in his mid-fifties.
Some of Wayne’s favorite quotes included:
1. "The worldly sense is the ladder to this world, the religious sense is the ladder to Heaven" - J. Rumi (13th Century).
2. "Tis said, the pipe and lute that charm our ears
Derive their melody from rolling spheres" - J. Rumi (13th Century).
3. The intersection of philosophy, religion, ancient and modern culture brings both wisdom and balance to knowledge" - Bryan Heathman and Wayne Baxley - 2011
4. If…an atheist, can learn from religion, then I as a Christian can learn from an atheist. - Dr. Elmer A. Martens, 2012
Services will be held on Friday, March 4th at Nicoletti, Culjis & Herberger Funeral Home, 5401 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, California 95819. There will be a viewing from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, and the Memorial Service will begin at 2:00pm. A reception will be held immediately after the service.
Condolences may be shared at http://www.legacy.com/funeral-homes/california/sacramento/nicoletti-culjis--herberger-funeral-home/fh-8301
Arrangements under the direction of Nicoletti, Culjis & Herberger Funeral Home, Sacramento, CA.
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