Wayne L. Bolen

Marian, I didn’t know Wayne, but I know you miss him very much. I have been praying that God would surround you with his precious loving arms. I love you.

May the comfort of the Lord be with you at this time and may He surround you with His love.

I’ll never forget as sick as Wayne was when we visisted him he still had a smile on his face, what a great guy he was and will be missed by many.

Wayne was very helpful when I put on a house addition to my Riverside residence. He reviewed my plans and appreciated my do-it-yourself approach. Plumbing would not sell me a permit and I always joked they were afraid I would drown myself. Wayne helped refine my plans and personally inspected my work. I used a licensed electrician for the drop to the main panel, but did the rest myself. We need more Public servants like him, someone willing to listen and keep homeowners out of trouble instead of \’you need a contractor.\’ I will always remember his courtesy and professionalism.

Wayne was truly one of my best friends from our working days at City Hall. He was such a friendly and outgoing person and what a sense of humor he had. We had many a conversation about life in general and how he and Marian got married so young and actually made it. Wayne, you will be missed.

I never really understood what an aunt or uncle meant while I was growing up. I just knew that they were special people in my life beyond my immediate family or siblings. Living in California so far away from any relatives I just looked at ‘cool’ relatives a little older than me as my aunt and uncle. Thus, Aunt Marion and Uncle Wayne were as easy for me to say as it was to show up at their door and make myself at home, as I was always at ‘home’ there. So for my whole life I have had a special aunt and uncle in Wichita. When I was just seventeen and adventuring into the real world on my own… I could think of nowhere I would rather be than with my aunt and uncle Bolen’s so I moved in for a month. There, I learned from them laughter and closeness and what a family really could be. There, I learned that a family could play together in a basement on a ping pong table. There, I learned how to stay cool when the weather turns to tornados and you just wait it out your basement. There, I learned what it was like to have fun by just going to the roof of a courthouse and checking out the city at night. Uncle Wayne always found a way to turn the minute into a fun time. He showed me that with every minute that we have you could find a way to make it the best it could be and the most enjoyable. That is what my ‘uncle’ Wayne left me with at the very impressionable age of 17. I will always have him with me each day as I go forward till we meet again.