Wayne Roger Gleason

Wayne Roger Gleason of Aurora, Colorado, passed away on May 5, 2024 at The Denver Hospice at the age of 80. Born February 1, 1944, Wayne was the youngest of three boys from Fullerton, Nebraska; Charles and Robert preceded Wayne in death.

Wayne is survived by his wife Susan of 57 years, and their four sons, Mark, David, Jeffrey and Derrick. Wayne is also remembered by his three beloved grandchildren, and three great-grand children.

After twenty years, Wayne retired from the United States Air Force as a Master Sergeant. He served at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam, Lakenheath Air Base in England, and other bases in Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska and Oklahoma. He was humble about his service - he “just” fixed radios and tinkered on plane parts in “the shop” - but underneath he was very proud of having been an Airman. We are all proud of him.

Following his Military Service, Wayne attended The Metropolitan State College of Denver where he earned his Bachelors Degree in Accounting. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

If Wayne ever had any advice, one piece may be that you can always catch more flies with honey, a joke, and a smile. He had fun with "Daddy's Delightful Dinners" which was often a concoction containing way too many bay leaves. But, he could make good stuff too. While at Cannon AFB, he participated in a base chili contest where he and his team took 2nd place. He kept the trophy from that cookoff for over forty years and would proudly tell you the story of them losing because of professional cooks. He loved his stories, his puns.

Wayne served as a Cub and Boy Scout Leader, imparting his love for the outdoors to everyone he knew. Colorado living meant taking his family camping and fishing, quite often in the Blue Dodge Van. On many of those fishing trips he attempted to teach his sons everything he knew about how not to catch a fish. In that regard he was an excellent teacher. He loved tinkering with his cars, building computers, and was even a photography enthusiast, sometimes developing his own photos at home. He enjoyed Sports, particularly Basketball, having been a player during his high school years.

In his life, Wayne never knew a stranger. He met every person in good faith, with humor, and with kindness. He will be missed by all those who knew him.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Disabled American Veterans: www.DAV.org