Terry L. Wait

Terry L. Wait, 61 of Kirksville, MO passed away Sunday (March 3, 2019) at his home. He was born June 23 ^rd , 1957, in Kirksville, third son born to James Wait and Iola (Mangus) Wait.

Terry attended Kirksville public schools and was a proud graduate of the Class of 1975. After high school, Terry was employed by the Wheeler Masonry Company under the gentle direction of Burr Searcy. This was at a time when Truman University had several large construction projects going on, the Natatorium and the new Administration Building. Terry built and stocked scaffolding with brick and block, mixed and hauled mortar for the bricklayers.

A recession slowed down construction in Kirksville, but another industry was starting to boom, the oil patch down South. After a phone call from his friend, Tim Thompson, who was in Houston, got Terry ' packing his bags and hitting the road. After getting hired on, Terry attended a school in Roswell, NM, to be trained as a roughneck for offshore work - and work he did, transporting oil rigs from Louisiana to South America, where oil deposits were being discovered and tapped. Brazil and Chile were the destinations - 30 days on, 30 days off, was the work schedule ... well... with 30 days off there was, of course, a good destination - the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, the Copacabana, Ipanema, and many others...Terry actually sailed around Cape Horn five times.

Terry soon updated his skills and became an electrician's helper. During some rough storms in the Gulf of Mexico, Terry was injured bad...some pipes on the deck of an oil rig had busted loose and Terry was caught between them, his right ankle was crushed...this ended Terry's career in the oil industry.   Coming home to Kirksville to recover and go through successful surgeries to rebuild the ankle, Terry enrolled in Truman State's two-year industrial electronics program...time to get new skills. Terry completed the program, received his certification from Truman State and became employed at TH&N Electrical Company. During his years with TH&N, Terry was also taking night courses in Hannibal, MO, to become a journeyman electrician. Five years later, he accomplished his task and was awarded a certificate of completion of apprenticeship by the Electricians Local Union #350 IBEW-NECA JATC, Hannibal, MO. Terry was a union man...through and through...and he didn't mind telling anyone why during his lifetime.

Terry then started working directly out of the union in Hannibal...big jobs in the Midwest...hospital construction...big fertilizer plants along the rivers...the Ford Plant in Kansas City...big jobs...union jobs. But he always had Kirksville to come home to, and he cherished it always.

Terry loved to hunt. He was a lifelong member of the Sugar Creek Lodge and the Pin Oak Flat Duck Club. He hunted elk in Canada, Wyoming and Colorado, along with the deer and turkey hunting at Pink Oak Flat near Swan Lake. On his walls are reminders of those hunts and adventures with family and friends.

Terry also enjoyed sport fishing in the warm waters of Costa Rica, where sailfish, tuna and marlin were the catch. He was a sportsman, conservationist, a true son of the prairie any season - he lived it and loved it.

During the last 20 years, Terry had a companion, his angel of compassion, Terri Lynn Ruby of Kansas City...guess what football team they rooted for...she was with him for the end to the last breath...companion...angel of compassion.

Terry was preceded in death by parents, James and Iola Wait, grandparents Vern and Alta Wait, and Day and Frances Mangus. Survived by brothers Jimmy Day Wait and wife, Joann, of Columbia, MO, and their children, Chrissie, Jill and Todd, and brother Jerry Wait of Kirksville, MO; Aunts Jo Miller of Kirksville and Sarah Ronchetto of Ankeny, IA.

Pallbearers: Jay Beets, Les McCollum, Pete Detweiler, Tony Jones, Norb Moore, and Kurt Hamilton.

A Celebration of Life will be held Friday evening at 6 p.m. in the Davis-Playle-Hudson-Rimer Chapel in Kirksville, MO.  Memorials may be made to Hospice of Northeast MO.