STEPHANOFF, Wayne Lee

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Wayne Lee Stephanoff, 81, of Prescott, Ariz., born Dec. 9, 1930, in North Hollywood, Calif., passed away May 22, 2012. Arrangements by Hampton Funeral Home. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Wayne Lee Stephanoff, 81, of Prescott, Ariz., 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, Calif., Dec. 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 Hometown," 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 July 19, 2012, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Wayne is survived by his wife, Heather; his daughters, Leanna Patterson and husband Ray, Meredith Vaish and husband Rishi; sons, Jon Stephanoff and 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.) Hampton Funeral Home assisted the family with arrangements. Hampton Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements. Please visit www.hamptonfuneralhome.com to sign Wayne's guestbook. Information provided by survivors.