War veteran, husband, father and beloved Gagack, William Wayne Carnes died surrounded by his family on Monday evening, Sept. 12, 2022. Wayne’s military training made him tough, but that didn’t get in the way of loving the people important to him. 

 

Wayne was born on July 24, 1943, in Bishopville, South Carolina. Son of William Eugene Carnes and Martha Carnes, he was a self-proclaimed mama’s boy. Wayne spent his childhood running around his hometown of Bishopville, which he regularly visited decades later. 

 

He graduated from Clemson University in 1965 with a degree in civil engineering, before enlisting in the U.S. Army. After airborne and ranger school, Wayne wanted to fly jets in the U.S. Army, but because of his 6 feet, 4 inches stature, he settled for helicopter school. He flew helicopters in the Vietnam War for over a year and became a captain with numerous awards and decorations, including a Bronze Star Medal and an Air medal with 12 oak leaf clusters. 

 

Wayne thought he was going to make a career in the military, but life took him in another direction. In 1969, he met Dorothy Jean Niehaus, the love of his life. Wayne asked her to marry him on just their second date. When they married, he adopted her two beautiful children, Archie and Amy. Now a family man, Wayne needed a lifestyle change. 

 

After Vietnam, the Army assigned Wayne to a court-martial as a defense lawyer, which sparked his interest in law. He used his G.I. Bill to go to law school at the University of South Carolina. After he graduated, he moved his family to Texas to be close to Dorothy's family and became a federal judge in Dallas. With his military life behind him, Wayne became a devoted husband to Dorothy and a loving father to Archie, Amy and now Becky. 

 

Wayne enjoyed the first part of his retirement traveling the world with his wife and becoming a grandfather on the side. Thanks to his granddaughter, Victoria, who had trouble pronouncing “granddad”, Wayne became forever known to his grandkids as “Gagack.” He showed his affection by taking his grandkids on vacations and serving them his famous waffles. 

 

In his later years, Wayne lost his wife to cancer and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him bound to a wheelchair. But Wayne never gave up; he fought hard in physical therapy and became a master electric wheelchair driver. For the next three and a half years of his life, he continued to be a caring father, grandfather and very recently, great grandfather. 

 

He is survived by his children Archie Carnes, Amy Mack and Becky West; his brother, Tony Carnes; his best friend Lee Stevenson;  his many grandchildren, Brandon, Victoria, Trinity, Noah, Annabel, Sophie and Elayna; and his great-grandchild, Valkyrie. 

 

Wayne’s story is the story of a rough Army pilot who became the gentle, loving core of his family. When he died, Wayne was surrounded by his family, and he would not have wanted it any other way.