Wayne S Vannett

Wayne Stanley Vannett was born on October 13th, 1931 to Cicero and Alma Vannett on a small farm south of Minot, ND. Wayne had 5 siblings growing up: Carl, Henry, Lillian, Opal & Robert. He attended rural grade school at South Prairie. When he was a young man the family moved to Minot, where he continued his education. Wayne lost both parents at a young age and went to live with siblings until he enlisted in the Army and served in the Korean War. When he was discharged he came back to Minot where he met his future wife, ArlaMae Cartwright, who was attending Minot State University to become a teacher. They married on June 8th, 1953 in the Catholic Church in Anamoose, ND. They were married 71 years and raised 6 children; Michael, Pauline (Okland), Michele (Meadows), Angeline (Piatt), Nicholaus and Leon Vannett. There were 25 grandchildren, 45 great grandchildren, and 1 great, great grandchild. Wayne worked at Northern Bottling Co. in Minot for 23 years as a sales person, then moved to Weiser, ID where he worked for Clark Wholesale. The last and final move was to Hermiston where he worked with Marlette Homes as a foreman. When he left Marlette he went to work for Hermiston High School as a caretaker. He started and operated a used car business, Inland Auto Brokers. At one time he had over 250 cars in the yard! Wayne belonged to The Moose Lodge, which he helped start and where he served as Governor several times, the Eagles Lodge, VFW and Knights of Columbus. Wayne served as an usher for years at Our Lady of Angels Catholic church and volunteered at the Agape House. Wayne loved to play dominoes and cards with anyone available to play. While there is luck in the game, dad was a skilled player and taught many grandchildren and friends to play ... almost always a quarter a game! Many card games have been played over the years, with Hand and Foot being the most popular game in the last years. Our father loved his family and his wife more than anything! Mom always set out clothes for dad to wear and for most events they wore coordinating colors. He was proud to have her by his side. Dad was a hard worker, a hustler and loved a great deal. He was somehow both the most genuine person, while simultaneously also being the biggest bullshitter. He was big and strong, but so soft and caring. Grandchildren and kids recall him saying playfully "that's chicken shit" when we beat him at dominoes or pool... it just made them laugh. He would happily eat anything you gave him, and treated any food given to him as his favorite meal, always grateful and enthusiastic. He was a man of confidence, a stylish individual, a fashion icon really. When anyone asked him how he was doing, he would answer matter of factly, "Well I'm lookin' good!" He had such a dry sense of humor, and sometimes I think he enjoyed it when people had to second guess if he was joking or not ... that was part of the fun. He loved helping people and believed in second and third chances. He was there for whoever needed him, always! The front page photo, taken at their home in Anamoose, was our favorite photo of dad. His overalls with his famous black book where he kept all of his information and notes, and his smile shows so clearly in this photo his loving nature. Wayne, husband, dad, grandpa, brother, uncle and friend will forever be missed and never forgotten.

Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 2:00 P.M. at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, Hermiston, Oregon. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 2:30 P.M. 

Immediately following the funeral mass there will be a celebration gathering at the parish hall with military honors.

Please share memories of Wayne with his family at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com

Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, Oregon is in care of arrangements.

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