Obituaries

A loving and caring husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, Wayne passed away on March 5, 2024 at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington at age 91. He was born in Niles, Kansas and grew up on a farm outside Culver, Kansas where he graduated from Culver High School. He was a middle child in the family of Hubert and Harriet Spohn with four brothers and three sisters.

Wayne wanted to be a pilot and, in that pursuit, joined the Navy Reserve program at Olathe, Kansas and attended Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas where he met his future wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Tourbier. In August 1954 he began flight training in Pensacola, Florida and received his Navy “Wings of Gold” after completing advanced training at the Naval Air Station in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Betty and Wayne were married in 1956 —a few months later they were settled in Oak Harbor, Washington where Wayne was assigned to a Navy Patrol Squadron and where they developed a love for the Pacific Northwest.   Retiring from active duty in 1958, Wayne remained in the Navy Reserve program and retired as a commander. In December of 1958, he was hired as a pilot by Northwest Airline —a position he loved for 33 years retiring as a Captain flying the Boeing 747. He and Betty made many lifelong friends during their years of Navy and NWA life and enjoyed the reunions and get-togethers with them after retirement —many of which Wayne helped organize.

Travel in the U.S. and to other countries was high on Wayne’s list of interests. A vacation trailer took the family to the ocean, Mt. Rainier, east of the mountains for water skiing and sightseeing and to Oregon beaches. Wayne enjoyed golf after retirement and the winters he and Betty spent at their condo in LaQuinta, California entertaining many guests. His garage was full of tools, garden and auto supplies and he used his handyman skills to help neighbors and friends many times.   Other interests included photography, music, watching sports and historical documentaries. He had a close bond with his family in Kansas and for many years returned in the summer to help with the wheat harvest. During the last years of Wayne’s life with dementia worsening, he still greatly enjoyed the visits of family and friends and we saw the sparkle in his eyes, his quick wit and big smile.

Wayne is survived by his wife, Betty, daughter, Lynn (Bryan), son Doug (Catherine) and granddaughter, Natalie, and two sisters living in Kansas plus many nephews and nieces.

The family would like to acknowledge the concern and kindness of Dr. Yen-Tsun Lai and the night caregiving of Elijah Kaunad in Wayne’s final months of life. Gifts in memory of Wayne may be sent to The Gary Sinise Foundation (an Organization helping veterans and their families) P.O. Box 40726, Nashville, TN 37204 or GarySiniseFoundation.org

A Celebration of Life service will be held on May 11, 2024 at 11 AM at Newport Presbyterian Church, 4010 120th Ave. SE, Bellevue, Washington.