Wayne A. Doebele, 86, of Basehor, Kansas, passed away peacefully at home on October 24, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

Wayne was born on July 26, 1940, in Clay Center, Kansas. He was raised in Wichita, where he attended parochial school and later graduated from Chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School in 1958. Like many young men trying to find their way in the world, Wayne spent the next few years working various jobs and trying his hand at college before discovering the path that would shape much of his life.

In 1961, Wayne joined the United States Navy. After completing boot camp in San Diego, California, he began what would become a 20-year career of service to his country. Serving as a Yeoman, Wayne spent much of those years at sea aboard multiple aircraft carriers, a destroyer, a supply ship, and even a ballistic missile submarine. His naval service took him throughout the world and included service in the Vietnam theater of operations.

Wayne also completed shore-duty assignments in Iceland and Alexandria, Virginia. It was during his time in Virginia that his life changed forever when he met Becola “Cookie” Bowe. Wayne and Cookie were married on April 20, 1968, beginning a marriage and partnership that would span more than 58 years.

By the time Wayne retired from the Navy in 1981, he and Cookie had welcomed three children into their family: Jill, Ann, and David. After two decades of military life and countless miles traveled across the seas, the family settled in Walton, Kansas, where Wayne began a new chapter.

That chapter would take him from the open sea to the open road. Wayne became a truck driver and spent approximately 30 years behind the wheel, building a second long career through the same kind of hard work, dedication, and dependability that had carried him through his years in the Navy, ultimately earning him membership in the coveted Million Mile Club. Near the end of his trucking career, Wayne and Cookie eventually made their home in Basehor, Kansas to be closer to family.

Wayne's life was one of service, perseverance, hard work, and, above all, family. The Navy may have taken him around the world, and trucking may have taken him across countless miles of American highways, but home and family remained the center of his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, and his brother.

Wayne is survived by his beloved wife, Cookie; his daughter Jill and her husband, Kyle; his daughter Ann and her husband, Kevin; his son David and his wife, Marcie; and ten grandchildren. He leaves behind a family who loved him deeply and who will carry his memory with them for the rest of their lives.

As his children, we will remember our Dad not simply for the places he traveled, the ships on which he served, the miles he drove, or the many years he worked. We will remember him as our father, the man whose life helped shape our family and whose presence was simply part of what made home feel like home. It is comforting to know that Dad died in fellowship with the Church, receiving the Lord's Body and Blood as a sure promise of the life everlasting, in which he now lives. In his final moments he was where he belonged: at home, surrounded by the people who loved him most.

Fair winds and following seas, Dad. You have stood your watch. Now rest in peace.

Memorial Service will be held November 27, 2026 at 1:00 pm at Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 14700 Leavenworth RD, Basehor, KS 66007.