Wayne Stephanoff

Wayne Lee Stephanoff, 81, of Prescott, Arizona, died Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Wayne's life expressed his values: honor, service and love of family and country. He was a master at entertaining folks with his stories of his growing-up years in Hollywood, his basketball years at UCLA, and his adventures from the Idaho river trips with friends and family. He lived by the credo: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke, 1729) Wayne was born in North Hollywood, California, December 9, 1930, to Blagoe (Bob) and Virginia Curtis Stephanoff. His father, Bob Stephanoff, was a Hollywood makeup artist whose films included: "Best Years of Our Lives," "Wuthering Heights," and "Duel in the Sun." Wayne fondly remembered playing on the back lots of the Samuel Goldwyn Studios as a child and has recounted his meetings with many Hollywood stars of the 30s and 40s. He graduated from North Hollywood High School and some of his life's most-treasured memories were playing for Coach John Wooden's first basketball team at UCLA in 1948. After college, Wayne entered the United States Air Force where he was a pilot and served as part of an elite group of flight instructors until 1956. His active duty time included the Cuban Missile Crisis, October, 1962. Following his military service, Wayne joined IBM where he held various sales and management positions for more than 20 years. In 1969 he was promoted to Salt Lake City, where he met his wife, Heather. He referred to her as the "sine qua non" in his life. They would have celebrated 40 years of marriage this July. After retirement from IBM, Heather and Wayne moved to Summerlin Sun City, Las Vegas. He was very active in the golfing community and served on the HOA Board of Directors and, eventually, President of the Board. In 2002, on a return trip to Las Vegas, they discovered Prescott, "Everybody's Home Town," and decided to make Prescott their final stopping point. He loved his life in Prescott and continued his involvement as a volunteer for the Prescott Police Department's Citizen Patrol and the Yavapai Regional Medical Center. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. A Celebration of his life will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 19. Wayne is survived by his wife, Heather, his daughters Leanna Patterson, husband Ray; Meredith Vaish, husband Rishi; sons, Jon Stephanoff, wife Toni; and Jeff Tanner, and his grandchildren, Alec, Philip, Mila, and Kavita. Given Wayne's devotion to this Country, the family requests that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in his name to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org.)

Wayne Stephanoff

December 9, 1930 - May 22, 2012