Wayne Stofan

WAYNE E. STOFAN age 70, beloved husband for 15 years of Judith Ann (nee Kempf); loving father of Duane (wife Colleen), Gina, Laura Valentine (nee Sgro) (husband Trevor), and Amy Bashein (nee Sgro) (husband Richard); devoted poppop of Owen, Sean, Carter, Parker, Hayden and Hadley; cherished son of Loel and the late Evelyn “Boots” (nee Heath); dearest brother of the late Sharon Rurer (husband Harry).

Wayne was born on May 16, 1947 in Ashtabula and passed away on October 5, 2017. He was a resident of Mayfield Heights for 16 years and a member of the Church of St. Clare where he was an usher. Wayne was a volunteer with Hospice of the Western Reserve and Hillcrest Meals on Wheels. He graduated from Chardon High School, attended Kent State University and University of Phoenix. Wayne retired as a U.S. Naval Officer after 30 years of service. He worked for Besam Automatic Doors and Stanley Automatic Doors. Wayne loved to travel, especially overseas and Florida. Judy was the love of his life and he enjoyed spending time with their grandchildren. Wayne will be remembered most as a kind, genuine, selfless and very happy man. He never complained, loved family gatherings and was the family photographer. Wayne will be greatly missed.

Written by Poppop Wayne for his grandson,
I am Poppop, Carters Grandpa, and I am a veteran.
I joined the Navy in 1967, Aug first and retired from the Navy in 1997 as a Lieutenant
I had all sorts of jobs in the Navy.
Boot camp was my first assignment where new sailors learned about being a sailor.
Boot camp was followed by 2 years of technical training where I was taught to repair computers. One super computer I worked on was the size of a big refrigerator. Today you would need 500 of those huge computers to do what a cheap watch can do!!
I was assigned a carrier and went to Asia to assist Americans fighting the Vietcong.
My next ship was one under construction in Bath Maine. After it was complete, we took the ship to Long Beach California. Another transfer sent the ship on to Japan, where I lived for a year. When it was time to transfer again, I was sent to Vallejo Calif to teach young men how to repair computers. Teaching was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the job, during my career I returned to Vallejo to again teach. The navy sent me to Pascagoula Mississippi to build a new type ship, it was a LHA which means it carried helicopters, tanks, and lots of marines. One magical trip on the LHA we went into the fiords of Norway above the Arctic circle. The sun came up for almost an hour each day. The rest of the time was night. I received an in-service commission and was sent packing to Newport news Virginia where a new Carrier was being built. It was a nuclear-powered ship. That ship is the only one still in service today. USS carl Vinson CVN70. When three years passed, I was sent to Pearl Harbor for my last tour of duty. In Feb of 1989, I transferred to the Fleet reserve and remained ready to go back on active duty. I retired from the US Navy on Aug 01 1997.

Contributions may be made in memory of Wayne to Hillcrest Meals on Wheels or Church of St. Clare.

Relatives and friends are invited to meet for the Mass of Christian Burial Monday, October 9, 2017 at 9:30 AM at the Church of St. Clare 5659 Mayfield Rd., Lyndhurst, OH 44124. Burial following with Military Honors at Hambden Township Cemetery. Family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Wayne at THE DeJOHN FUNERAL HOME & CELEBRATIONS CENTER OF CHESTERLAND 12811 CHILLICOTHE ROAD (Rt. 306, just south of Mayfield Rd.) SUNDAY 2-6 PM.