Wayne Van Dine, Sr.

Wayne Van Dine, 77, of Weirton WV passed away on Friday January 22, 2016, at his home. Born on March 24, 1938, in Kittanning, PA, Wayne was a son of the late Albert and Helen Remaley Van Dine. He was also preceded in death by a brother and two sisters. Wayne retired after an extensive career in Broadcast Journalism which spanned nearly fifty years. Stations included WACB, WEIR, WSTV, WIIC/WPXI, before retiring from KDKA TV 2 in Pittsburgh, PA. He was named an Honorary Policeman with the Pennsylvania State Police and the Allegheny County Police. Wayne was a member of Sacred Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, Weirton. All who knew Wayne, knew that music and golf were two of his favorite passions in life. Jamming with his great friend Slim Bryant or just picking up his guitar for family and friends, Wayne will always be remembered as a gifted musician. He also was a very gifted golfer, where his skills and talents earned him the title of Club Champion at Williams Country Club in Weirton, WV and the Kittanning Country Club, located in his hometown. Wayne is survived by the love of his life, Rose Marie Zias Van Dine; his two daughters, Diane Eafrati - Buchanan (Michael) of Brigantine, NJ and Gwendolyn Cartier (Roy) of Pittsburgh, PA; his sons, Wayne Van Dine, Jr. (Donna) of Severn, MD, and David Van Dine (Margie) of Springfield, MO; a brother, Gilbert Van Dine of Chicago, IL; and five grandchildren. Visitation will be 5-8 PM Friday at Greco- Hertnick Funeral Home, 3219 Main Street, Weirton, WV Additional visitation will be 9 AM until the time of his Mass of Christian Burial 10 AM Saturday at Sacred Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church Weirton, WV In accordance with Wayne's wishes his body was cremated. Memorial contributions may be made to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, www.pittsburghfoodbank.org or to Weirton Community Bread Basket, www.communitybreadbasketinc.org share tributes at www.grecohertnick.com A Tribute to Wayne Van Dine Wayne Van Dine brought sunshine into the life of just about everyone he met. Maybe that's why his favorite old song was "You Are My Sunshine." He loved the old songs. And it was those songs that brought us togethera collaboration and friendship that lasted nearly 38 years. He was playing his guitar at a cookout hosted by a mutual friend and I surprised him by sneaking up behind him with my violina little gag the hostess had arranged. In the course of that evening, we found out that we both knew a lot of those old songs and, we were "naturals" because we both played by ear. It was a rare chemistry. Later, when Country and Western pioneer Slim Bryant agreed to join our little musical family, Wayne realized his boyhood dream. Wayne had his own method of playing guitar. Once at a Celebrity Golf tournament, he bumped into the legendary guitarist Chet Atkins on the practice green. Wayne just HAD to show him his guitarand when Chet started to tuck the beautiful old Gibson under his arm, Wayne said "You won't be able to play that; it's tuned to an open G." Chet handed the guitar right back to him and said, "Ohyou're one of THOSE!" Wayne was one of those. One of those gifted people who use their many abilities to make the world a better place. He was just a kid from Kittanning who made it to the very top of local television personalities. He was a broadcast innovator from his first major market job at WIIC Channel 11. He changed what is known as the "stand-up" report. Instead of standing in front of the camera like a stone statue, Wayne gestured and moved around. Once he even walked out from behind a huge boulder that had come down on the highway so viewers could see how big it was compared to him. He devised a clever way to make it LOOK like he had a wireless microphone in the days before stations even had wireless microphones. But he found his true calling as a consumer advocacy reporter at KDKAsolving problems for hundreds, perhaps thousands of people in a folksy, non-confrontational way that made friends on both sides of the issue. The TV editor of the Pgh Press once wrote that Wayne "neither created corporate villains nor set himself up as an avenging hero. He simply laid out the problem." Among the many thank-you letters that Wayne shared with me, the one that impressed me most, was from a woman who said she was planning to call Wayne about a problem but when she warned her adversary he didn't wait. He fixed the problem that same day. "Even your name works magic", she wrote. Words like that could tempt a lesser man to get a swelled head or a big ego. But not Wayne. He had humility and honesty and he projected those virtues right through the camera lens into your living room. That's what made him so effective and respectednot only by the public but his co-workers as well. Wayne's life can be summed up by three great loves: He love GOLF. He was probably good enough to turn pro, but I don't think the lifestyle suited him. He just loved hitting the ball. He loved MUSIC. He was a troubadour who not only enjoyed music, he employed music. Once he did a story about a church in Pittsburgh where the roof was falling in and the insurance company was refusing to pay for repairs. He asked the priest an odd question. "Did the organ still work" Answer was "Yes, it did". That night, when the piece aired on the 6 o'clock news, there in the background were the familiar notes of the old hymn "Abide with me". It was Wayne providing backup to his own report on the church organ! (The church eventually got its' money and the repairs were made.) But he saved his greatest love for his wife, Rose, and their family. I cannot remember a time we were together when he didn't have something sweet or loving to say about Rose. Their love was true. It was deep. And it was undying. After he retired, his favorite thing to do in the evening was to sit on the sofa in the rec-room with his beloved Rose, watching a National Geographic special on big screen TV and sharing a glass of wine. Wayne cherished Rose. But he also relied on his abundant faith. He supported the Church and tried to live every day by its precepts. He prayed earnestly and often. And when things broke his way and he gained from life, he always credited the Lord for watching over him. Whether it was singing to a 102 year-old woman in a nursing home, Getting a bridge repaired for a small town that couldn't afford it, Or rounding up turkeys for the needy at Thanksgiving, Wayne put his whole heart and soul into it. That was Wayne's way. He could put his celebrity aside and tell the most comical stories about himself. Like the time as a youngster when his mother asked him to give some water to the chickenschickens they raised, there in Kittanning, to help feed the family. Instead of getting a bucket and pumping the water, Wayne grabbed a kettle off the back of the stove and used that. When he came back in the house, he said "Boy, those chickens must have been thirsty; they drank every last drop." And his mother asked, "By the way, what happened to the kettle of maple sap I had on the stove? I was going to make maple syrup from that." Wayne always kept his compassion for others. A few months ago at the clinic where he got treatment, a nurse was especially gentle doing a procedure. When he got home, he telephoned her supervisor and said, "Do you know what a GEM you have in nurse so-and-so? You are so fortunate to have her on your staff." Years ago, someone had written a letter to KDKA using almost those same words about him. Wayne was a good man and the Public's Best Friend. He brought Integrity to his work, Stability to his family and Charity to his neighbors. I think it was when he left the magazine show (Pittsburgh 2-Day) that his co-host, Patrice King Brown, quoted something from Dr. Seuss. It went: Don't be SAD because it's over. SMILE because it happened!" Although we're sad, with Wayne we witnessed a life well-lived and a destiny fulfilled. I found his tribute in the lyrics of his favorite old song: You were our sunshine, Our special sunshine. You made us happy, When skieswere gray. By John Eld