Wayne Anker Magnusen

1964 - 2023

Wayne Anker Magnusen

December 14, 1964 - October 28, 2023

Wayne Anker Magnusen, the best husband, best father, best brother, best uncle, best nephew, and best friend to all who knew him, died unexpectedly on October 28, 2023 at the age of 58, while in his home.

Anyone who knew Wayne knew that he could never keep a straight face, was always laughing, always joking, had a knack for making people smile, and was quite the prankster on any given day. And anyone who knew Wayne also wouldn't put it past him if he were here today that he would more than likely have an input on his own gravestone that would read something like.... I'll be back... with the best Arnold Schwarzeneggner connotation possible.

Wayne came into this world laughing and no doubt scheming his first prank on December 14, 1964, to the proud parents of Bill and Carol Magnusen who declared at his birth, Oh, I thought we were having a girl!. Mom was carrying high and we all had our suspicions that Wayne had something to do with this. But the joke was on Wayne as he went home in a lightly shaded pink,

and very fluffy, onesie with a matching blanket. And that's perhaps where this whole thing started.

For the first nine years of his life growing up in Euclid, Ohio, and always the first one to start a good snowball fight, he was the leader on the block who was looked up to as a local hero by all the boys for initiating, The He-Man Woman Haters Club, and sending all the girls home crying. His antics as a boy involved climbing and falling out of trees, (resulting in broken bones), sled

races (that would always go awry ending in dog piles, bruises, and bloody lips), and being chased by one very large dog repeatedly (because he never learned his lesson).

His later years after he moved to Yuma took more serious overtones as he married young, had children young, and enlisted young. He remembers very fondly loving these years of raising his family while serving his country and traveling around the world. He grew up, (using this term loosely of course), in the services and after spending ten proud years between the Air Force and the Army he came home and started working for Budweiser and then Coke where he met (and pranked) a lot of great friends for many years thereafter.

During his workin man days, his antics continued and quickly elevated him into Rockstar status creating very fond memories after he became a local legend with his Budweiser friends through one very memorable evening when he incidentally became a stripper for one evening when the strippers from Phoenix were a no-show and the owner asked the whole table, can

anyone help us out here?, of course Wayne, always up for a challenge, alongside another friend, were the first to raise their hand, to help out these young damsels in distress!!! The evening went better than thought as they turned out to be much better than the original

strippers giving him cause to wonder if he should jumpship into a different career choice.

He is preceded in death by his loving wife of 20 years, Sylvia, who is hopefully-as we speak-giving him an earful as to his untimely demise, making him rethink the term, rest in peace. God bless you Sylvia!!!

He is survived by his two children, Crystal and Wayne Jr. and his step daughter, Jessica, who by marriage to Sylvia, quickly became a part of the family; his three sisters-in-law, also by marriage to Sylvia, by his sister, Sherry; by his uncle Melvin who will to this day still think of him as a hero; his many wonderful grandchildren; great grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. (His niece, Sam, and his nephew Jack, recalls a time after Wayne sent them a picture of him driving his Coke semi and in total awe and admiration they both exclaimed, Damn!!! My uncles a bad-ass!!!)

Wayne was a bad-ass who brought to the table so many of the good things in life and he was also so many things to so many people. He was the kindest soul you could ever know-certainly too kind for this earth. If you were lucky enough to be loved by him you never doubted it for a second. He lived his life like his hair was on fire, burning bright and fast and his light was extinguished much too fast.

It goes without saying that Wayne left us with broken hearts, mixed emotions, and unanswered questions. But he also left us with a copious amount of priceless, endless, and hysterical stories that could portray how he lived, his favorite dog, Henry, who has an insatiable love for cheese, and a very large and inappropriate T-shirt collection that we have absolutely no idea what to do with. Suggestions are welcome!!!

So if you're listening Wayne, your stories will live on in our hearts forever, you will always be cherished, and no matter what...we will never stop loving you for as long as we live. You will be greatly missed!!!

Waynes services will be help at:
The Yuma Civic Center
1440 W Desert Hills Dr.
Yuma, Arizona 85365
From 2:00pm to 5:00pm, Sunday, November 19, 2023.
There will be a military ceremony held in his honor at approximately 2:30 so please keep it in a timely manner.
Please sign the guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/yumasun