Wayne Northart, 70 years old, beloved son, brother, husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully on June 25, 2024, at his home in Leland, North Carolina, surrounded by his devoted wife, children, and grandchildren. He was born on July 28, 1953, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Paul and Mary Helen Northart.

Wayne and his wife, Karen Sue Anick, met when they were teenagers; married at 18 and moved to Alexandria, Virginia to begin married life. Wayne’s infectious personality and sense of humor helped him to succeed in a career as a salesman for Canada Dry Beverages and later in life as an owner of a distributorship for the Wynn Oil Company. Wayne’s football team was the Steelers, of course, and he proudly displayed their “black and gold” in his garage! Neighbors and friends could always find him hanging out in the garage where every dog in the neighborhood knew he kept “treats” for them. He was obsessed with vacuum cleaner lines in carpets and having the “best lawn” on the street. His sense of humor was considered “absurd” and “obscure” but always brought a laugh from those around him.

Wayne and Karen had two boys, born in 1978 and 1982, while living in Frederick, Maryland. The family moved to Loudoun County in Virginia in 1985, where they raised their family. They moved to Compass Pointe in Leland, North Carolina in June 2018 where they planned to spend a long retirement; but life had other plans. In 2020, Wayne started experiencing signs of dementia. He and Karen were determined to “live with dementia” and enjoy every last moment of time together before the illness took him away. They kept active, visible, and engaged with friends to the very end. They traveled to Alaska, toured the National Parks of middle America, swam with dolphins in Cozumel, and visited Europe where they stopped in Spain, France, and Italy celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. Before coming home, they went to Paris and fell in love all over again just being together knowing time was limited.

Wayne is survived by the love of his life, Karen Anick Northart; their children, David Justin (45) and Gregory Thomas (41), his daughter-in-law Laura Laiti, and his precious grandchildren. He is known as “Big Daddy” to his five (5) grandchildren Tyler Justin (20), Dylan Thomas (14), Thomas Gunner (3), Elise Layne (3), and Brody Nash (20 months). And we cannot forget about his Lady Reese Cup (Reesie) Northart, his beloved dachshund, who was by Wayne’s side until the very end.

Services will be held on July 19, 2024, at Brunswick Funeral Service, 3479 Southport Supply Rd SE, Bolivia, NC 28422. Visitation with the family will begin at 1:00 p.m. and the Memorial Service will follow at 2:00 p.m with Rev. Henry Rehder officiating.

The family asks in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the following organizations:

Donate to LBD Research with Lewy Body Dementia Association (lbda.org)

Donate - Dementia Society of America (charityproud.org)

Hospice Foundation Of America - Thank you for making a difference.