James Wayne Douglas

James Wayne Douglas, known as Wayne by friends, passed away peacefully at home on March 17, 2018, surrounded by his loving family according to his wishes. His death was related to complications of cancer.

He lived life as it came to him, "improvising, adapting, and overcoming," as he liked to say. Adversity presented an opportunity to improve and to become better, and this outlook influenced not only his family, but also the myriad individuals he was privileged to lead and develop at the companies he worked for. He started off with a career in the grocery business as store director with Tom Thumb Supermarkets, where in 1975, he met Lea Beck, whom he married the following year. Throughout moves from state to state, Wayne continued in the grocery industry where he held managerial and sales positions for various grocery warehouses. In 1991, Wayne and his family moved back to Austin to take on a new career path in the home health industry. He accepted a job offer from Bob and Betty Girling, to be a General Manager at Girling Health Care. He had the honor of working with many wonderful people over the 25 years and he was blessed to be with the company. In April 2016, Wayne retired as Vice President of Girling Community Care, to the disappointment of many after his years of dedicated service. His perspective and insight into life's challenges, including his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and later, metastatic cancer, provide lessons to those who knew him that will resonate for decades to come. His was truly an example to emulate in all respects.

He will be sadly missed by his beloved wife, Lea; cherished children, Preston, Chelsea, and Haley; mother, Inez Douglas; and two brothers, Steve and Ron.

We invite you to visit his family's website http://tinyurl.com/jameswaynedouglas created by his son to serve as gathering place for those that were impacted in some way by Wayne. Photos and videos illustrating his life are included, as well as explanatory narratives.

For interested parties - donations can be made in his name to Hospice Austin or to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

A Memorial Mass will be at 2:00 P.M., Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 4800 Convict Hill Road. Inurnment will follow at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Memorial Park which is located at 6300 W. William Cannon Dr. Following the ceremony everyone is invited into the funeral home chapel for refreshments, fellowship and a beautiful display of pictures of Wayne that his family gathered for this special occasion.