Obituary for Wayne Pawell
Wayne Douglas Pawell, 76, passed away Monday, February 6, 2023 at his home in State College, PA. It is a profoundly heartbreaking loss to everyone who knew and loved this kind, intelligent, charming, witty, generous, quirky one-of-a-kind gentleman.
Wayne was born June 4, 1946 in Abington, PA to Joseph Pawell and Mary (nee Stapley) Pawell. He was the eldest of three sons and grew up in Roslyn, PA. He attended Abington High School and traveled throughout Europe on a senior class trip, where he developed an interest in the Fine Arts.
After graduation in 1964 he enrolled in the Penn State University Department of Architecture and became a proud member of Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity. As his love for the Arts grew stronger he changed majors and graduated in 1968 with a degree in Art History.
Having fallen in love with the vibrancy and stimulation of a college town, he knew State College would become his permanent residence. He secured a position with one of the first copy centers in town, becoming manager and eventually, with his then partner, owner of Gnomon Copy. His beloved terriers and schipperkes became store mascots and town celebrities with their own fan base. He was chosen to be included in a downtown mural of prominent State College locals. In 2005 he received the Outstanding Commitment to Equity Award given by the CLGBTE.
Being a huge New York Times crossword puzzle junkie was only one of Wayne's many passions. He loved creating recipes and became quite a self taught gourmet cook. He was a film, TV, music and Theater buff, often visiting NYC to see the latest Broadway productions. He loved taking his Sunfish Sailboat out to Colyer Lake for an afterwork or weekend sail, usually with his canine crew onboard.
Wayne was an avid history buff, especially interested in the British Royals. His mother was a Canadian citizen and remained a British Subject and his father was an RAF pilot in WWII. Joe owned his own plane when his boys were growing up and would fly his family to Ottawa countless times to visit their Canadian relatives. Wayne despised flying ever since.
His love of architecture and maps was evident by his countless drawings of city designs he would create and plan out, sometimes just as doodles for something to do. He loved collecting and keeping current miniature flags of all the countries of the world. Any trip to NYC included a stop at the United Nations gift shop to keep his collection up to date. Another one of Wayne's particular interests was visiting old cemeteries on his travels, respectfully trying to piece together stories of those interred.
Wayne was preceded in death by his father, his mother and his brother, Ronnie. He is survived by his brother, Michael and Ronnie's wife, Natalie. He will be sadly missed forever by a multitude of friends. A celebration of his life is being planned for this summer at a date and location to be determined.
At Wayne's designated request, any memorial contributions may be sent to:
Centre County PAWS
1401 Trout Road
State College, PA 16801
https://www.centrecountypaws.org
PA Simple Cremation is assisting with arrangements. www.pasimplecremation.com
Wayne was born June 4, 1946 in Abington, PA to Joseph Pawell and Mary (nee Stapley) Pawell. He was the eldest of three sons and grew up in Roslyn, PA. He attended Abington High School and traveled throughout Europe on a senior class trip, where he developed an interest in the Fine Arts.
After graduation in 1964 he enrolled in the Penn State University Department of Architecture and became a proud member of Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity. As his love for the Arts grew stronger he changed majors and graduated in 1968 with a degree in Art History.
Having fallen in love with the vibrancy and stimulation of a college town, he knew State College would become his permanent residence. He secured a position with one of the first copy centers in town, becoming manager and eventually, with his then partner, owner of Gnomon Copy. His beloved terriers and schipperkes became store mascots and town celebrities with their own fan base. He was chosen to be included in a downtown mural of prominent State College locals. In 2005 he received the Outstanding Commitment to Equity Award given by the CLGBTE.
Being a huge New York Times crossword puzzle junkie was only one of Wayne's many passions. He loved creating recipes and became quite a self taught gourmet cook. He was a film, TV, music and Theater buff, often visiting NYC to see the latest Broadway productions. He loved taking his Sunfish Sailboat out to Colyer Lake for an afterwork or weekend sail, usually with his canine crew onboard.
Wayne was an avid history buff, especially interested in the British Royals. His mother was a Canadian citizen and remained a British Subject and his father was an RAF pilot in WWII. Joe owned his own plane when his boys were growing up and would fly his family to Ottawa countless times to visit their Canadian relatives. Wayne despised flying ever since.
His love of architecture and maps was evident by his countless drawings of city designs he would create and plan out, sometimes just as doodles for something to do. He loved collecting and keeping current miniature flags of all the countries of the world. Any trip to NYC included a stop at the United Nations gift shop to keep his collection up to date. Another one of Wayne's particular interests was visiting old cemeteries on his travels, respectfully trying to piece together stories of those interred.
Wayne was preceded in death by his father, his mother and his brother, Ronnie. He is survived by his brother, Michael and Ronnie's wife, Natalie. He will be sadly missed forever by a multitude of friends. A celebration of his life is being planned for this summer at a date and location to be determined.
At Wayne's designated request, any memorial contributions may be sent to:
Centre County PAWS
1401 Trout Road
State College, PA 16801
https://www.centrecountypaws.org
PA Simple Cremation is assisting with arrangements. www.pasimplecremation.com