Francis Wayne Ouzts

Francis Wayne Ouzts, 92, resident of Wesley Commons, passed away on November 2, 2025. Born in Saluda County, SC on February 19, 1933, he was the son of the late Charlie Theodore and Nellie Mae Ouzts. Wayne was the eighth of ten children and was reared in the Kirksey-section of Greenwood County.

Mr. Ouzts graduated from Greenwood High School and then joined the U.S. Army stationed in El Paso, Texas where he was highly involved with the world's first operational surface-to-air guided missile defense system (Nike Ajax). Following military service, Wayne graduated from Clemson College in 1961 with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. Mr. Ouzts retired following a long career with AT&T Corporation where he was Executive Director leading teams on development and oversight of advanced shipboard communications systems on U.S. Navy ships including the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS John F. Kennedy; and development, deployment and management of shipboard missile defense systems. These efforts led Wayne to lengthy assignments in the United Kingdom, Scotland, Germany, Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Latin America and Ascension Island as well as residency in states on both coasts of the United States.

Mr. Ouzts was a former resident of Greensboro, NC where he was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church serving as a Deacon, Sunday School Director, and choir member. Following retirement to Greenwood in 2008, Wayne became an active member of Westside Baptist Church. Mr. Ouzts was a donor to the Clemson University Foundation which included the establishment of The Ouzts Family Scholarship Endowment which provides merit-based tuition assistance.

Surviving is his brother Philip A. Ouzts of Winter Park, FL, nieces and nephews and extended family members. Mr. Ouzts was predeceased by his sisters Lois O. Hawkins, Mary O. Corley, Dorothy O. Bryant, Naomi O. Wells, and Janice O. Wells; and brothers Jack E. Ouzts, J. Ray Ouzts, and Charlie T. Ouzts, Jr.

A celebration of life will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with the Reverend Kyle Richter officiating. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from noon until the time of the service. Burial will follow at Friendship Church in Saluda County.

The family expresses much appreciation to the staff of Wesley Commons who provided dedicated and compassionate care for Mr. Ouzts.

Memorials may be made to The Ouzts Family Scholarship Endowment: Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, or to the charity of one's choice.

Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Ouzts family.