Lewis Wayne Loveall

Lewis Wayne Loveall (known to many as Wayne) was born on October 4, 1939, in Greenfield, Missouri, to Warren Thomas Loveall and Julia Cooper Loveall. He died Sunday, December 23, 2018, at the Research Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of 79.

Wayne grew up in Greenfield, Missouri, in the Ozarks and attended Jewell School through seventh grade, where he had some of his poems published in the Weekly Reader.

He attended the eighth grade at the Greenfield Elementary and graduated from the Greenfield High School in the class of 1957. He was the class salutatorian. He had the lead part in the senior play.

After high school, Wayne went to work at the Rubenstein Store in Greenfield for a few years. He then served his country during the Vietnam War era when he joined the U.S. Army. He then went to work for the IRS where in November 1967 he met the love of his life, Janet Marie Bonacker. On May 26, 1968, they were married, in the chapel of the Olathe Naval Base, Olathe, Kansas. They were never blessed with children of their own. However, they adopted every child that came into their lives.

All his life he loved playing (and watching others play) billiards. He was very good at it. He also loved traditional Bluegrass, Country and Gospel music.

Wayne sang most of his life and started playing the guitar about the age of 50. He wrote around 100 songs. He even won a couple awards for his articles about the music and festivals. Wayne and Janet went to many bluegrass festivals all across the Midwest and have a large extended family of bluegrass friends. Due to his vast knowledge of this traditional music, he was considered a walking encyclopedia among his friends.

Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, Warren and Julia Loveall; an infant sister Virginia Marguerite Loveall; and two brothers: William Leon Loveall and Charles Truman Loveall. He left behind his wife, Janet Loveall; sister, Rachel Naomi Loveall Ball; sister, Lois Allene Loveall Zeller (Kenneth Zeller); nephew/godson Bryan William Odom (Julia Marie Gooding Odom); adopted daughter, Sara Marie Kirby (Jon Allred); grandchildren: Charli Marie Hines and Leo Wayne Hines; plus nieces, nephews and cousins too numerous to list here.
Wayne was a loving husband, father, brother, godfather, uncle and a very good friend to all who knew him.

The funeral service, under the care and direction of Park Lawn Funeral Home, was held Monday, December 31, 2018, at Park Lawn in Kansas City, Missouri, with burial following in Green Lawn Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.