Wayne Daniel Puckett

December 9, 1927 – April 15, 2022

Wayne Daniel Puckett was born Dec. 9, 1927, in Allen, Nebraska to Cyril and Eleanor Puckett. He was third in a family of 10 children. In 1936 the family moved to Victor, Montana where Wayne started school. The family moved to Bozeman, Montana then settled in the Greenleaf, Idaho area in 1944. Wayne graduated from Greenleaf Friends Academy in 1948 and then attended Cascade College in Portland for one year and worked for the Post Office.

He married Bertha Watson on Oct. 9, 1951, at the Friends Church in Greenleaf, Idaho. In spring of 1952 the couple moved to Fairfield, Montana to work on the Watson family homestead. Daughter Paula was born in Great Falls, Montana and three years later another daughter Neva was added to the family. The family settled in Nampa, Idaho where the children attended school and Wayne worked for the sugar beet factory and the Stinker Gas Filling Station. After a few years the family moved to Boise, Idaho where Wayne worked at Firestone Tire and Cloverleaf Cemetery.

He began driving for American Van Lines in 1972 and drove cross-country with Bertha. He delivered goods to 47 of the 50 states and in 2018 visited Alaska. After recuperating from a serious truck accident in December 1974, Wayne and Bertha moved to Fairfield, Montana to be close to family, where he worked for the irrigation district until 1978. Then they moved to San Diego, California where he began working for Helix Water District and retired in July 1993 after 15 years. Then he moved to Moses Lake, Washington. Dad began working at the Grant County Museum where worked for 16 years. The museum was his passion and he loved his work there and especially the spring school tours.

In 2014 he sold his house in Moses Lake and moved to Kennewick, Washington to Affinity Apartments, where he was fondly named “Grumpy Wayne.” He was very social and enjoyed playing cards and billiards. In May 2021 he moved with his oldest daughter to New Braunfels, Texas where he passed away April 15, 2022.

Wayne was preceded in death by his wife Bertha and granddaughter Alexis Curtright Graff. He is survived by daughters Paula Curtright and Neva Varner and grandchildren Aaron Curtright, Daniel Wayne Varner, Amy Varner, Jonathan Varner and Matthew Varner.

Memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. May 18, 2022, at the Moses Lake Alliance Church, 1100 N. Grape Drive, Moses Lake, Washington.