Herbert Wayne Beal, Jr.

Upon graduation from NCSU, Wayne worked at Western Electric as a Plant Engineer.  He retired as Senior Engineer with Lucent Technologies and continued working for the Tar Heel Army Missile Plant until 1999.  Wayne met his beloved wife, Sandra Rush, at Western Electric and they were married for more than 62 years.  They were blessed with three children:  Lori Beal Ray (George) of Burlington, Wendi Beal Layton (Gary) of Mebane, and David Wayne Beal (Karen) of Burlington.  He had two grandsons, Ryan Layton (Libby) of Hillsborough and Robert Layton (Brooke) of Elon, and one great-grandson, Luke Layton.  He was a loving grandfather to four step-children:  Lauren Ray of Ottowa, Canada, Kelly R. Redhage (August) of Tarboro, Chandler Ashe of Charlotte, and Brooke Ashe of Stanley.  He is survived by his wife and family, a sister, Martha Beal Holmes (John) of Charlotte, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, including a very special nephew, Richard Johnson of Burlington.

Wayne served in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Alaska during the Korean War.  He served in the Air Force Reserves for 20 years and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  He was a loyal member of Front Street United Methodist Church and was active as a Sunday school teacher, on the Board of Trustees, Administrative Board, and Buildings and Grounds committee.

Wayne will be remembered by his family for his unfailing kindness to everyone, his beautiful prayers at every meal, his uncanny ability to always fix whatever was broken, and his love for his many orange cats, all of whom were named “Sammy”.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at 11:00am on Friday, April 7, 2023 at Lowe Funeral Home Chapel by Rev. Marshall Old with a private burial to follow.

The family wishes to thank the owners and staff from Pano’s Grill, Wayne’s favorite eating place and his second home.  A sincere thank you is also given to the loving caregivers who took such good care of him and made it possible for him to stay at home with his family during his final months.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Christian Service Scholarship Fund or to the Music Fund, both of which are at Front Street United Methodist Church, PO Box 2597, Burlington, NC 27216.  Condolences may be sent via www.lowefuneralhome.com .