Wayne Michael McKenna, 48, otherwise known as "Uncle Swayne," "Bushwick," "Wayno" and "Wayniack," passed away on August 21, 2025 surrounded by family at Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, Virginia.
Born in Georgetown, Texas, on July 25, 1977, Wayne primarily grew up in Terryville, Connecticut. He graduated from Terryville High School in 1996, and attended Dean College and the University of Maine, before deciding to forge his love of woodworking into a career.
Contractor by trade, talented carpenter, pro DIYer, and consummate perfectionist, Wayne has always been able to build or repair anything that needed fixing. And if he couldn't fix it, he was sure that duct tape certainly could! Homes up and down the eastern seaboard showcase his expertise and creativity. Each morning families across Wayne's home base of Sterling, Virginia, begin their days in showers he constructed and relax each night in theaters or rec rooms he designed. The door at Subway might never close properly again now that he's gone.
An outgoing and avid sports fan, Wayne grew up playing soccer and basketball and was always down for a pick up game. He loved time on the greens, was a bocce ball master, an enthusiastic boogie boarder, and skilled bowler and billiard player. And, if you listen closely, you just might hear him still cheering from the heavens for his treasured Boston Bruins, Washington Commanders, New York Yankees and UConn basketball teams.
Wayne's unofficial uniform of t-shirt and cargo shorts were home to his mandatory extra pair of sunglasses, favorite pocket knife of the day and headphones. Music was a balm to his soul and he almost always had an earbud or speaker playing everything from the Grateful Dead to Metallica to Eminem.
But it was Wayne's generous heart that endeared him to everyone he met. There wasn't a person on this earth that he wouldn't lend a hand to or sit and have a conversation with, a child he couldn't make laugh, or a pet who didn't beg him for belly rubs. Time after time, he would enter a home as an employee - there to remodel a bathroom or lay a new floor - but leave as an honorary member of the family. He will be fiercely missed by so many, none more so than his family, whom he loved beyond measure.
Wayne was predeceased by his cherished grandparents, Mary and Leo Schaefer, Ginny McKenna and Noreen Segebarth. He leaves behind his beloved mother, Teresa Schaefer, of Terryville. Father Richard McKenna and half-sister Kaitlyn of Waterbury. Brothers Joshua and Jason McKenna. Sister and brother-in-law Tara and Scott Fuller. Niece and nephew Keira and Devin Fuller. Paternal Grandfather Harry McKenna and Aunt Erin McKenna. Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Mary Lee and TJ Badger, Patti and Chuck Sehulster, Maureen Schaefer, Ruth and Len Chapman, Julia Schaefer and Brenda Vilela; as well as a myriad of cousins, dear friends, honorary nieces and nephews, and every dog he ever met, especially Tucker, Geri Lee and Lana.
Services are planned to honor Wayne in Connecticut and in Virginia. Friends and family are invited to attend either one.
Connecticut: A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025, 9-11 am, at Scott Funeral Home, 169 Main Street, Terryville, Connecticut. Interment will immediately follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery, 522 Terryville Avenue, Bristol, Connecticut.
Virginia: An open house memorial will be held on Sunday, September 21, 2025, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fuller family home. Friends are welcome to stop by, share a favorite memory and enjoy some of Wayne's favorite foods.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wolf Trap Animal Rescue https://www.wtarescue.com/donate-2 or the Connecticut Humane Society https://cthumane.org/ways-to-give/?form=memorialtribute