Wayne Robert Wilson

May 16, 1939 - October 17, 2014

Wayne Robert Wilson Obituary (Age 75) Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend suddenly breathed his final breath on October 17, 2014 at Deaconess Medical Center after a courageous battle against pneumonia. Wayne R. Wilson, a lifelong and memorable resident of the Spokane area, was born May 16, 1939. He is preceded in death by his mother Kathleen M. (Wilson) Cornelius and father Wayne W. Wilson. Wayne is survived by his wife of forty-seven years Barbara Z. Wilson; daughter Debra L. Arthur (Charles); son Gregory A. Wilson (Julie); brother Warren C. Wilson; sisters Donna K. Schaaf and Karen Smith; eight grandchildren, six nieces and eight nephews. A private service was held at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake, WA. Memorial contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be sent to the Alzheimer?s Association at www.alz.org. **** When born in Spokane, WA on May 16, 1939 to parents Kathleen M. (Jackson) and Wayne W. Wilson, an amazing life was begun and then lived by Wayne Robert Wilson. This true gentleman taught us that the real measure of an individual?s character is whether he humanely displayed acceptance and respect towards all others so they could maintain their dignity and self-worth at all times. This rare quality was the essence of Wayne?s soul. From his early childhood years, he seemed to be aware that there was never going to be enough time for him to live and experience as much of life as he desired. He had a passion which kept him active each and every day until he was no longer physically capable. Wayne attended Libby Junior High School and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in the class of 1958. While an LCHS Tiger, he was a three year starter in football, basketball and track and field. Wayne was a city and a state record holder in the pole vault. He also was all-city in football. Following high school, Wayne was awarded a full four-year athletic scholarship to Washington State University. As a cougar athlete, he placed second in the nation in pole vault on two occasions. In addition, during those years, he tied for third place in the pole vault (he had one more ?miss? at a vault height than the other athlete and became an alternate) so he did not get to compete in the 1960 summer Olympic Games. In 1962 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent most of those three years at Fort Hood, TX competing in track and field events on the All-Army Team. In his final months in the military, he received a memorable ?free? cruise to Vietnam where his training as a hospital clinical technician was in high demand. Wayne was at the 85th medical evacuation hospital in Qui Nham, Vietnam. His rank was SP5. This was the largest evacuation hospital at that time (1965) in Vietnam. Following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 1965, he returned to college but at Eastern Washington University. While there he placed first in the nation in the pole vault setting a new national record for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) vaulting to 15? 6? on the 1966 All-American track and field team. In February, 1966 Wayne met his future wife, Barbara Z. Colwell, at EWU. They were married on June 10, 1967 in Spokane, WA. Wayne received his bachelor of arts in physical education degree from EWU, but he joined the Spokane Police Department in February, 1967 after placing first on their civil service test. He actually intended to become a fireman but placed third on that test. (Firemen had more free time to play sports than policemen he had articulated.) He put in twenty-seven years serving the community of Spokane before retiring in 1994. During his time on the SPD, he was, for the first three years, a patrol officer followed by five years as a motorcycle patrolman before becoming a detective. Wayne remained a detective and was an auto theft detective for the next nineteen years. This position allowed a normal schedule of working hours so as to enhance family life experiences. During these years he participated in a variety of SPD connected sports teams which included their basketball, softball, golf and running teams as well as the annual Special Olympics torch run across the state and the annual Washington State Police and Firefighters Olympics. It was during this time that he began his legacy as a Bloomsday Run ?Perennial.? (He completed Bloomsday 2014 in a respectable 1 hour 47 minutes and 13 seconds.) And as one of Spokane?s Ironman Triathletes, before his retirement, he had completed thirty-five marathons and ten Ironman Triathlons ? six held in Kailu-Kona, Hawaii on the big island and four in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. Countless shorter distance triathlons, 10-K runs, half-marathons, bi-athlons and masters swimming competitions were participated in as training for the Ironman Triathlon each year. His fellow athletes have fond memories of all of these experiences together. A fear that their days were over was experienced by a small group of Spokane Ironmen on a practice swim going out from the Kona Pier at a distance into the open ocean. Fins were noticed a short space away and sharks came to their minds immediately ? it was determined that dolphins were swimming with them. They learned later that the local sharks were nocturnal feeders. His family enjoyed traveling to his many competitions as well as participating in their own with his full support and encouragement. Following his retirement from the SPD in 1994, at the age of 54, Wayne and Barbara enjoyed the next thirteen winters and springs in Arizona making lifelong friendships. While there, he played recreation league senior softball at first in Yuma, Arizona and then in Sun City, Arizona. For several years he was recruited by competitive senior softball teams from Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Canada to join their teams to travel for senior softball tournaments. With some of these teams he enjoyed participating in the huntsman senior games held in St. George, Utah annually. He was the designated hitter (DH) for the Richmond Old Boys of Richmond, BC, Canada in 2001 when the team won the gold medal for first place in the men?s 60+ major division in senior softball. Wayne enjoyed golfing in Sun City, Arizona especially on the south golf course where he was a member of the men?s club and where their winter home had an excellent golf course side location. In the spring of each year, he and his wife Barbara hiked the trails together in the White Mountains west of their home while the desert wild flowers where in bloom. This began Bloomsday training each year. Finally they decided that there were more places to see and more memories to make and their goal became to have more family time and time to travel to the east and to the west. Wayne?s favorite places to visit included: Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument and Deadwood City in South Dakota; Jackson, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park (in the fall to see the elk) and Cody, Wyoming; Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake and Bigfork, Montana and their favorite place in Hawaii, Kauai Island to enjoy the beauty as well as play golf at the Kiahuna Golf Course. Wayne played on Spokane?s Senior Softball Recreation League which he facilitated to become a reality after several attempts fell on deaf ears. He golfed at Wandermere Golf Course, near his home, where he was a member of the men?s club and enjoyed the Monday scrambles as well as the many tournaments. He was a remarkable man blessed with many extraordinary talents and led an inspiring life. He possessed a wealth of knowledge about sports and could easily engage one in a meaningful conversation regarding a diverse collection of sports in which he had personal experiences. Wayne was truly a gifted and charismatic athlete who not only challenged himself, but also all others to excel in athletics. He was both a mentor and a coach throughout his lifetime. He was always generously ready to give of his time to lend advice, when requested, to facilitate another person?s improvement in sporting endeavors. He conveyed his lifelong passion for sports to all who knew, or had just recently met him so that it was easy to be motivated by his example to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle. The way he lived his life was inspiring to others. He has sprinted ahead of us for now and must wait for his lived ones to catch up to him in his final journey. A sincere thank you to those family members and genuine friends who were there for him at this most challenging time of his life. You were, and are, very appreciated for your support. Bless you. He has left us with countless memories of a life well lived, filled with love and laughter. We will miss his intelligence, sharp wit, playfulness, strength, integrity, wisdom and his internal clock which always knew when the Mariners, Cougars, Seahawks or Gonzaga games were about to start providing him either an entertaining few hours or hours of frustration at their losses. He will be profoundly missed by: his wife, Barbara; son Gregory A. Wilson; daughter Debra L. Arthur; sisters Donna K. Schaaf and Karen Smith; brother Warren C. Wilson; grandchildren, nieces and nephews and his many friends across the country. You are forever in our hearts, forever on our minds Wayne.