Wayne C. Andrews Obituary (1944 - 2020)

Wayne C. Andrews, age 76, Menomonie, WI passed away Thursday, May 7, 2020 at his home surrounded by his family. He passed away following a long battle with cancer. He was born February 1, 1944 in Wheeler, WI to Ned and Tinka (Hendrickson) Andrews. He graduated from Boyceville High School in 1962. After graduating, Wayne joined the Army and was trained as a Morse code intercept operator. He was assigned to Kagnew Station, a Cold War listening station in the Ethiopian Highlands and served there until leaving the military in 1965. Wayne married his high school sweetheart, Sheila Roland, on November 30, 1963. They had two daughters while stationed in Ethiopia, Nadene and Natalie. After leaving Ethiopia, they returned home to Wisconsin. Wayne became a driver's license examiner in Ashland, Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles and retired there after 31 years. His warm personality and calm demeanor made him the examiner every driver hoped would administer their road test. Wayne and Sheila resided in Washburn, WI for 27 years. After retirement they returned to Menomonie to be closer to family and to the area where they grew up together. Wayne enjoyed working part-time at the Menomonie School District as a groundskeeper and lunchroom attendant. He was very proud of his grandchildren, Lindsay, Andrew and Hunter. They enjoyed many adventures with their "Papoo" and nobody had better fireworks than Papoo. Wayne was grateful for the care he received from Dr. Eyad Al-Hattab, nurses Katherine and Kathy at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Mayo Hospice Services, and also Dr. Burns who cared for him early on. He wanted his childhood friend Ollie Madsen to know how much his lifelong friendship meant to him and a special thank you to Greg and Erin Reisimer for their incredible help and support. Wayne is survived by his wife Sheila; two daughters, Nadene (Scott) Morrin and Natalie (Kurt) Gaber and grandchildren: Lindsay (Brett) Wilson, Andrew Beadle and Hunter (Jake) Gaber. And his four-legged companion and friend, Oscar. He is also survived by sister Luana, brothers Wendell (Diane), James (Sue), brother-in-law Dale Amundson and several nieces, nephews and other friends and relatives. He is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Stanley and Allen, sister Lyn Amundson, brother-in-law Roger "Stub" Nygaard, and sister-in-law Marlys Andrews. A celebration of Wayne's life will be held at a later date due to COVID-19.