Wayne Arthur Glenna, Age 73, of Centuria, Wisconsin, passed away on December 15, 2018 at Osceola Medical Center after a 6-month battle against Mesothelioma. Wayne was born on July 15, 1945 along with his twin brother, Warren, in St Croix Falls, WI to Ruben and Ellen Glenna. They were the youngest of the family with older sister, Carol, and older twin brothers Gene and Jerry.
The Glenna family lived in Chisago City during Wayne’s childhood, which is also where he attended school. In… Read More » 1967 Wayne received his draft notice. He did not want to be a ground pounder, and heard the Navy had better food, so he decided to join the Navy.
He did his basic training in San Diego and from there he was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. He only had duty every 14 days, which was too much free time with no money, so he and a buddy decided to volunteer for Vietnam where they would be kept busier and get better pay. In Vietnam, his title was a Storekeeper.
He kept track of and unloaded all the supplies coming off merchant ships in the black water piers in Da Nang for the base. He also ran a “Motor Whale Boat” (also called a Liberty Launch) from ship to shore. He was awarded a bronze star for his service.
After 1 year in the Vietnam war, he chose Jacksonville, Florida as his duty station and spent 2 years on shore duty as a Boatswain mate. Throughout the 4 years of active duty he performed maintenance on the ships he was associated with. The last six months of his tour he was assigned to a destroyer out of Florida and was sent out to sea.
He traveled from Florida to the Mediterranean Sea on a special mission, where he saw France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Jamaica. After being discharged from the Navy he worked for R E Peterson and held various other jobs. In 1971, he met the love of his life, Terry Lea Woods, and they were married on July 10, 1971 at Methodist Church in Siren WI.
In December of 1971, they were blessed with their first child, Heith. Wayne and Terry bought their first home in Chisago City in 1973. In February of 1976, they were blessed with their second child, Tara.
Wayne always wanted to live on a lake so in 1977 they purchased a cabin on North Center Lake in Center City. They remodeled it and made it their home and lived there for 40 years. From 1980 to 1988 Wayne worked for Century Fence driving truck.
He wanted something different than driving so in 1988 he started with Onan Generator and retired from there in 2006. He met many wonderful friends at Onan and never minded a day that he had to go to work. Between the years of 1996 and 2006, Wayne and Terry were blessed with 7 beautiful granddaughters.
Wayne enjoyed fishing and boating, teaching their children and later, their granddaughters how to fish and do all the fun things that comes with owning lakeshore property. He spent many evening hours just sitting on his bench on the end of the dock fishing. When the lakeshore became too much work they bought a home in Centuria, WI, where he finally had his pole barns of his dreams.
He built a small shop in one corner and loved helping everyone, especially his granddaughters. He also loved the fact that he could keep all his toys inside. Wayne and Terry enjoyed riding motorcycle.
They had a toy hauler for years that they would use to haul the motorcycles to Texas, Arizona and Florida. They spent a lot of wonderful times just riding in WI and MN also. They would come home from work and jump on their bikes and ride.
In 2016 Wayne and Terry were blessed with a great granddaughter, Addison. She brought so much joy and laughter to his last years. He will truly be missed by his family and friends.
Wayne was preceded in death – Parents Ruben and Ellen Glenna, brother Jerry Glenna, and daughter Tara (Glenna) Swanson. He is survived by his wife, Terry; son Heith (Theresa) Glenna, and son-in-law Dennis Swanson; granddaughters – Kailey, Kari, Sydney and Lana Glenna; Sadie, Kiarra and Zoe Swanson; great granddaughter, Adison Swanson; sister Carol (Richard) Peterson; brothers Gene (Joyce) Glenna and Warren (Ellen) Glenna; sister-in-law, Bev Glenna; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
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