Mr. Michael John Wade

Dad died at home in Nokesville, surrounded by family and looking forward to being reunited in heaven with Kitty, his beautiful bride of 46 years.

Michael Wade was predeceased by his wife, Katherine (Kitty) Wade, who passed away on December 29, 2021. He was also predeceased by his parents, Eunice and Dudley Wade; his uncles, Reverend Kenneth Wade and Reginald Wade; his mother and father in-law, Katherine and Fairfax Davis; and many dear friends from Northern Virginia, Ashland, England, and many other places around the world. He is survived by his children and their spouses: Jon and Ann Wade of Ruther Glen; Tracy and Mac Sorfi of Manassas; Laurie and Curt Henderson of Summerville, South Carolina; Lydia and Jim Camp of Manassas; and Amie Wonch of Spokane, Washington; and his grandchildren: Corey Burton and his wife, Dr. Mary Katherine Taylor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Olivia and Katherine Misero of Manassas; Christopher Theis of Epworth, Iowa; and James Reesman of Summerville, South Carolina.

Michael John Wade was born on September 13, 1934 in Mitcham, Surrey, a sprawling south London suburb–the only child of Eunice (Eunie) and Dudley Wade. Dad was only 5 when England declared war on Germany; his father Dudley served in the Royal Navy on a PT boat in the North Sea. Dudley would go on to be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by King George VI for “conspicuous gallantry under enemy fire.”

Following the war, Dudley, Eunie, and “Mick” crossed the big pond to begin a new life in America in 1946. They would go on to buy what would become their “forever” home, located at 203 Henry Clay Street, Ashland. Dad graduated from Henry Clay High School in 1950 and then earned his BA in English from Randolph Macon College in 1954. He enjoyed fun times with his Phi Delta Theta fraternity brothers and the Ashland social scene while at RMC and then joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving four years of active duty in Quantico and Norfolk, Virginia.

A point came in Dad’s life where he would have to choose between being a career military officer or being a teacher; he chose teacher and transitioned from active duty to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In 1958, Dad was accepted to graduate school at University of Virginia and earned his Masters in Education a few years later. During this time, Dad went to work for the Virginia Department of Education as a supervisor of English. Following this, Dad began a 27-year career working for Fairfax County Public Schools as a high school English teacher–first at Fairfax High School, and then at Annandale High School. Eventually, Dad was hired as an assistant principal at Fairfax High School and later, as an assistant principal at Lake Braddock High School. It was in the midst of this blossoming career that Michael made the smartest decision of his life: marrying Mom in a small ceremony at Greenlands (farm) in Ashland on January 25, 1976. After honeymooning in New Orleans, Michael and Kitty lived on Fort Drive in Manassas with Jon and Tracy; shortly thereafter, they moved to a new house on Mill Creek Road in Haymarket, Virginia.

Michael eventually finished up his career in education by teaching language arts at Frost Middle School. In 1990, Dad took the FCPS’s early retirement option and tooled around while waiting for Mom to retire early from Prince William County Public Schools, which she did in 1995. Following their respective retirements, Mom and Dad embarked on 15 years of adventure–traveling extensively all over the world for months at a time (most frequently to England). Many of these trips included visits with former exchange students and their families or with other good friends. When Mom and Dad were at home, they thoroughly enjoyed grandparenting, gardening, reading, planning their next trip, swimming, attending St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (where Dad served as lay reader and deacon), and relaxing.

Dad was a rare breed–just the right mix of masculine strength and nurturing sensitivity. He was a remarkably good listener and made people feel valued and respected. He could be moved to tears by a passage from a favorite book or a piece of music–he loved Mozart, NPR, and would laugh uproariously at old comedy routines like “The Bricklayer.” He was left-handed and sneezed twice every time. He was a voracious reader, and Patrick O’Brian was his favorite author. He read the entire newspaper each day and set aside the “funny papers'' for Katherine every Sunday. He had tea and Social Tea biscuits every afternoon (which he would only share with Moneypenny, Stonewall, and Ben-G), wrote down what happened each day in his diary, ate big bowls of porridge for breakfast, and loved the skin on the top of the chocolate pudding Katherine would cook for him. Other favorites of his were Magnum Bars, clotted cream, malted milkshakes, Pawleys Island hammocks, his mother’s marmalade, Grape Nuts, and his beloved Corgi, Kate.

Dad was a master conversationalist and sometimes “stirred the pot” just to get a reaction out of people (which was maddening). He had a wonderful, dry sense of humor, and it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him to say something completely ludacris just to amuse himself. One example of this was him telling us to “go play tiddlywinks with manhole covers,” if we ever dared complain about being bored. If anyone asked Dad what he was doing, he might respond: “I’m contemplating my navel.” Throughout our lives, when one of us was leaving the house, Mom would say, “Watch out for the deer,” and Dad would say, “Don’t take any wooden nickels.” By the time you got to the door, you would hear him call out: “Cheerio!” We would imitate him, saying something like “Cheerio, pip pip,” in a ridiculous British accent. These are things we cherish about our dad—just a few of the ways he taught us about being good people and about how to live life.

Even though you and Mom now watch over us from heaven instead of your respective chairs in the family room, we remember and celebrate you beyond measure. We are proud to call you Dad and definitely won’t be taking any wooden nickels any time soon. Until we meet again in heaven later on, Cheerio, Dad…Cheerio.

Michael will be honored with a celebration of life at Nelsen Funeral Home in Ashland, Virginia on Saturday, April 30, 2022, at 412 S. Washington Highway, Ashland, Virginia 23005. Family will receive friends between the hours of 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. at the funeral home.