STILLMAN VALLEY – Wayne Alex Yankus, 80, departed this life Tuesday, March 3, 2020 in Naples, Florida. The son of Alex and Evelyn (Kingsbury) Yankus, Wayne was born Feb. 23, 1940 in Winnebago, and raised on the family farm in Stillman Valley.
As a 1958 graduate of Stillman Valley High School, Wayne was a member of the football team and played trombone in the band. Wayne was very proud of his military service in defense of his country as a sailor and guided missile specialist in the U. S. Navy. He served aboard the USS Canberra, once stationed at Guantanamo Bay during the time of Fidel Castro coming into power as the Cuban dictator. On June 17, 1961, Wayne married the love of his life, Priscilla Brill, in Fairmont, W.V. At the time of his passing Wayne and Priscilla had been married for nearly 59 years. For 25 of those years Wayne served as the Director of Maintenance for the Anheuser Busch Brewery and Bottling Plant located within the Busch Gardens Theme Park in Tampa, Florida. During this time Wayne fulfilled a personal goal by earning his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tampa College.
Upon early retirement from Anheuser Busch, Wayne and Priscilla could be found traveling the country for many years by RV while also enriching the lives of their five grandchildren by often including them in prolonged excursions across the country. This time was extremely important to both Wayne and Priscilla while creating shared moments and lifelong memories filled with love, learning and adventure as only grandparents can provide. For the better part of the past 20 years, Wayne and Priscilla made their home in Naples, Florida while spending their summers on continued travel adventures while enjoying Stillman Valley on the old homestead and as members of the Kishwaukee Community Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Wayne is predeceased by his parents Alex and Evelyn (Kingsbury) Yankus and his nephews Randall Allen Yankus and Richard Allen Yankus, Jr.
He is survived by his wife Priscilla Yankus, daughter Cindra Kay (Blaine) Burgess of Little Rock, Ark., son Michael Wayne (Leah) Yankus of Marietta, Ga., brother Richard (Mary) Yankus and Sisters Joan Bauer and Kathy (Tom) Harms all of Stillman Valley, five grandchildren; Alec, Evan and Camryn Burgess and Grace and Elise Yankus, and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Wayne’s life will be held in his memory, and to the glory of God, at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Kishwaukee Community Evangelical Presbyterian Church near Stillman Valley with the Rev. Eric Tonjes, Pastor, officiating. A private burial will follow in the Kishwaukee Cemetery with the family greeting friends and relatives following the burial in the church’s fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to be made in Wayne’s name for the benefit of Kishwaukee Community Evangelical Presbytery Church or Kishwaukee Community Cemetery Association.
