Wayne Otho Wingfield

Wayne Otho Wingfield, 85, of Lynchburg, Virginia, left this earth while in Jerusalem, Israel, on August 31, 2022, during a tour of the Holy Land.  Wayne is now safely home with His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom he loved wholeheartedly and served diligently.  Wayne was especially loved for his expressions of Christ’s love, joy, and kindness, along with his big smile and bear hugs. Wayne is survived by his loving and supportive wife of nearly two years, Dianna Bolton Wingfield.

Wayne was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on July 7, 1937, the sixth of seven children born to Floyd and Annie Wingfield.  Wayne often recalled and shared stories of many happy childhood memories growing up on a farm by Molly’s Creek in Rustburg, Virginia.  As a teenager, Wayne moved to Amherst, Virginia, where he graduated from Amherst High School in 1958.

Following high school, Wayne attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he answered God’s call into full-time ministry. Wayne later earned his Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Mennonite College in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Wayne’s first pastoral assignment was in Fairfield, Virginia, where he met his wife of fifty-eight years, Patricia Woods. Wayne and Pat had two daughters together, Christina and Beth.

Wayne served as a pastor for forty-seven years in the United Methodist and Wesleyan denominations. Wayne served as a pastor for the United Methodist Church until 1974, when he left the denomination because of fundamental differences over Biblical authority.

Wayne’s senior pastoral assignments took him to Cape Hatteras, NC, Inez, NC, Lynchburg, VA, Harrisonburg, VA, and Falls Church, VA. He then served as associate pastor in Roanoke, VA, with his brother, Steve, where he loved teaching Evangelism Explosion curriculum.  Wayne and Pat then moved to High Point, NC, where he served as evangelism pastor at First Wesleyan Church.

After his pastoral ministry, Wayne worked as North Carolina State Director for World Relief, viewing his role as serving on a “reverse mission field” for refugees coming to America from countries all over the world. Wayne then started Home to Home Ministries, Inc. to help High Point area churches reach the community with the gospel through provisions of food and other necessities. During these years, Wayne served as an elder at Community Bible Church in High Point, where he and Pat were members.

Wayne and Pat moved to Runk & Pratt Liberty Ridge Retirement Community in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 2014 following Pat’s Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. As they settled into their new home, the Lord again provided evangelism and ministry opportunities for Wayne as he served as volunteer resident Pastor, where he offered bible studies, led chapel and church services, and was instrumental in leading many to faith in Jesus. He viewed his most important role as a faithful and loving caregiver to Pat until her homegoing.

Wayne had much energy and enjoyed a variety of activities. He played football in high school, sang in church and school choirs, was an avid cyclist, and traveled on numerous mission trips to South America, Russia, and Africa. Wayne especially enjoyed spending time with his family and loved being “Pop” to his grandchildren.  He loved going on adventures with his girls and grandchildren, with one of the most memorable being a white-water rafting trip down the New River in West Virginia on his 79^th birthday.   He enjoyed one-on-one time with his grandchildren, meeting them as frequently as possible to encourage and support them in their walk with Jesus.

On October 3, 2020, Wayne married Dianna Bolton, who had served on the ministry team at Liberty Ridge.  After their marriage, Wayne and Dianna spent their time together, providing biblical encouragement to neighbors, friends, and strangers. They enjoyed traveling, where Wayne introduced Dianna to many of his family and friends.  They especially enjoyed serving as spiritual mentors at Lodestar Mountain Inn in West Virginia.

Wayne treasured his time reading the word of God and praying every day. His daily goal was to honor God, serve Jesus, and share the gospel of his Savior with all people at any given opportunity.  Wayne loved people, never meeting a stranger. He had a gift for quickly connecting with people and was passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus. He enjoyed serving his church members, neighbors, friends, and family. He loved discipling new Christians in their spiritual growth and encouraging them to be involved in the local church. Undoubtedly, Wayne led hundreds, if not thousands, to Christ in his lifetime.

Those left to cherish memories of Wayne are his loving and devoted wife, Dianna Bolton Wingfield of Lynchburg, VA, and Wayne’s two daughters and their husbands. Christina and Dan Griffith of Jamestown, NC, and Beth and Andrew Bell of Lynchburg, VA. Wayne had seven grandchildren: Ian Wingfield Bell, Claire Kathryn Griffith, Emma Grace Bell, Jackson Douglas Griffith, Aidan John Bell, Lauren Beth Griffith, Elliott Wilson Bell; Dianna’s three sons, Scott Bolton (Jennifer), Chris Bolton (Tiffany), Andrew Bolton (Marie) and their children.  Together Wayne and Dianna had 24 grandchildren.

Wayne was deeply loved by all his family, including his many nieces and nephews and many, many friends across the country. Wayne was a member of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

A celebration of Wayne’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at Thomas Road Baptist Church, Pate Chapel with Rev. Steve Wingfield and Rev. Scott Bolton officiating. Th family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Virginia Memorial Park.

For those desiring to honor Wayne’s memory and legacy, a donation can be made to the Wayne Wingfield Lodestar Mountain Inn Gap Year Fund at wingfieldministries.org.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.

Click here to view Wayne’s tribute video