Terry Allen Waite was born Oct. 2, 1961 in Tarzana, California, and went to be with our Lord and Savior on April 10, 2016.
A memorial service for Terry will take place on Wednesday, Apr. 20 at Sierra Pines Church in Oakhurst, followed by a graveside service with military honors at Oakhill Cemetery, and a celebration of life at the Queen’s Inn.
Terry loved his wife, family and friends deeply. He also loved his dogs, many cats, and horses. He enjoyed gardening, jet skiing and captaining his boat, as well as snorkeling, photography, socializing with friends and genuinely helping others when he could.
Terry served in the Air Force for eight years, stationed in Frankfurt, Germany and Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada. With top secret clearance, he translated important military information. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant.
In July of 1988, Terry met Susanne Updike, the love of his life. They were married on Sept. 23, 1989. He loved her with all his heart, as she loved him, and they celebrated 27 years of marriage. Terry cherished Susanne and always took care of her to the best of his ability.
Terry worked as a Senior Computer Network Engineer at Harris Corporation, along with Raypak, and Countrywide Mortgage, before having to “retire” as disabled over 17 years ago.
Terry was co-founder of the Kennedy’s Disease Association with Susanne Waite and Patrick Griffin. The organization was formed in 2000 and he served as the treasurer for 16 years.
He was blessed to be able to do many things others dream of, such as traveling to the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, Canada and throughout the United States for pleasure.
Terry also was adventurous and daring!
He went sky diving and cave crawling, rappelled from a 180-foot drop inside Mercer Cavern, experienced river rafting the Kern, tandem hang gliding over Ocean Beach in San Francisco, SCUBA diving off the coast of Cozumel in Mexico, and so much more. Even after his disease started taking his physical abilities away, Terry remained as active as he could.
Terry courageously fought the deterioration from Kennedy’s Disease for over 20 years and was an inspiration to many, as he suffered his pain and frustration with dignity and a positive attitude. He always was helpful and purposeful right up to the last minutes of his life as he prepared the ingredients for dinner.
Terry is survived by his wife Susanne, mother Ernestine Schlotzhauer, brother William Waite, sister Jaime McKinnis, nieces Alexis Waite and Alecia Bramhall, and nephews Jeremy Roselle, Garrett Waite, and Maxwell Waite. Terry was proceeded in death by his father William Roscoe Waite, and brother John Roselle.
There is no doubt that Terry is in Heaven and will always be watching over us. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Family and friends of Terry Waite are invited to a viewing at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 20, at Sierra Pines Church, and a memorial service led by Pastor Michel Musacchio at 1 p.m., followed by a graveside service at Oakhill Cemetery with Military Honors and Gun Salute at 2 p.m.
A celebration of life will take place at Queen’s Inn by the River starting at 3 p.m., where hors d’oeuvres will be served with a no-host wine bar.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made in his memory to Kennedy’s Disease Association P.O. Box 1105, Coarsegold, CA. 93614
Thank you for being a part of our lives.
