posted 07-21-2005 08:52 PM         

Yesterday his daughter sent me an email her mom recieved from a younger fellow who had worked with Wayne, I just have to share this with everyone because I could not have spoken any true're words of him.

Here it is pls read

I am feeling a little sappy these days. This is an email that was sent to
my mom from a young man that attended Dad's funeral and thought I would pass
it on. I guess I just want the people that mean something to me to know my
dad a little better...and share this with the people that already do...K-A

Sometimes there are people that have a lot to say they just can't say it, as
you can read below...

This past weekend, I attended a memorial for Wayne Seaman. The memorial was
held just north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I drove roughly 3000 km and
was only there for two hours before turning around and heading home and I
would do it again in a heartbeat in order to be there to say goodbye to
Wayne.

I can still remember the first time I met Wayne. He really was one of those
larger than life people. He commanded respect just by stepping into a room.
Part of that was his sheer physical size, he was a huge man, and part of it
was his demeanor. Wayne was not much of a talker when he first met you on
the job. I was just a lowly forester anyway. He did approach me my first
week of work and said that he had heard that I was interested in joining the
curling club. I was later to find out that curling was one of Wayne's many
passions.

Wayne had a split personality in a way. At first, I only knew the Woods
Foreman side of Wayne. He was the strong silent type most of the time. That
was unless you did something to irritate him. He basically ignored me and I
avoided him on the job for many months. The truth was that this big, tough
man intimidated the hell out of me and I didn't want to do or say anything
to incur his wrath which I imagine was the way everyone felt.

To simply say that Wayne was just a logger is sort of like saying Ty Cobb
was nothing more than a baseball player. Wayne was more than a logger, he
was from a different era, and it is safe to say they just don't make them
like that anymore. His incredible knowledge of the techniques, procedures
and equipment for logging on the mountain slopes of the west coast could
have filled volumes. If Wayne had never done it, then as far as I am
concerned, it couldn't be done because he had done it all. His knowledge
was only matched by his physical abilities. Up until the day he retired, I
am sure he could have outperformed men more than half his age on any crew on
the coast. At the same time, Wayne wasn't some old dog unwilling to learn a
new trick. Despite the government's best efforts to drive the loggers of
the west coast insane with all of their constantly changing nit picking
regulations, Wayne adapted. Instead of being like many loggers and taking
the attitude that the constant new rules and regulations were worthless and
only a hindrance, Wayne went out and made sure his crews followed the rules
as best they could. I can remember more than one occasion where he tried to
pin down a forester or engineer on exactly what he needed to do in order to
follow the latest regulation. Wayne would rather have it done right than
cut corners, even if it cost more.

To those of you who didn't know Wayne, you probably think from my
description he was some grumpy ogre. Nothing could be farther from the
truth. A few months after I started working in Jeune Landing I bumped into
Wayne at a social function. At first I couldn't believe it. Away from the
responsibilities of his career, Wayne was a very outgoing, humorous man. In
fact, he was often the life of the party. He loved to joke with and tease
the people he socialized with. He made an effort to include you, and wanted
you to have a good time. He loved to dance and was very good at it. I can
remember walking into a bar full of people 30 years younger than Wayne.
Before I could get myself oriented, he was out on the dance floor with
probably the one woman in the place close to his age. Randy, Brian and
myself stood there wondering how he managed that so quick. He really had a
charm about him that the ladies loved and would make the men smile. There
was beer available at Wayne's memorial, and that is what he would have
wanted. I can remember him coming into my office on the odd Friday
afternoon and handing me a beer from a flat he had bought the crew at the
end of a hot day. For his memorial, he would have wanted us to have fun and
raise a toast, not to him, but the great times he gave us. If I hadn't had
to drive back the same day, I would have done that.

Wayne set a very high standard for those he worked with and those he played
with. This is probably because he set an even higher standard for himself.
If you won Wayne's praise at work or admittance into his large circle of
friends, you knew you were among the very best of company. When Wayne asked
me to be the third on his curling team in the Port McNeill bonspiel I
thought it was a huge honor. Not only did Wayne consider me a good curler,
but someone he wanted to spend a weekend with. I never dared to say that to
him of course, Wayne wasn't someone who put up with any sort of fawning. In
the end, we took second place at that bonspiel, but we did have a great time
while we were there.

The greatest love of Wayne's life was his family. He was absolutely devoted
to his wife Donna and demonstrated that every time I saw them together. I
always enjoyed the way his face would light up when she appeared. The love
they had for one another was palpable and inspirational.

As I drove home from the memorial, my mind wandered back to the mist covered
giant forests of the island and I could see Wayne there. His long slow
stride, battered hard hat, rain coat covered in mud and grease, radio slung
low on his hip like a six-gun, walking up to some logging show that had gone
haywire and needed his attention.

Wayne passed away following a battle with cancer shortly after retiring.
While he left us far too soon, I know that all of us who were lucky enough
to have known him can take comfort in the rich life he led, the wonderful
memories he gave us, the smiles, the jokes, the laughter. He leaves behind
a wonderful legacy of children and grandchildren as well as a huge group of
friends who will miss him dearly.

Dan Gaughan

posted 07-22-2005 07:48 AM         

http://www.pencilstubs.com/magazine/MagPage.asp?NID=85

This occurred just before I returned to Alabama and met the evil elf...a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, Gene lost his battle with emphysema around his birthday, in 2001--2 days before my own birthday! In years past, we'd celebrated them together! We were Air Force buddies! Gene died in his Phoenix apartment--alone!

posted 07-22-2005 08:33 AM         

My prayers will reach out for him and his family I know Wayne is in a happy wonderful place and feel sure that his family understands that.

Dont ask Why Me Lord ask instead Why Not Me?

Curtis