LaWayne Guengerich

Lawayne Earl Guengerich (born July 25, 1938) of Austin, Texas went to Heaven on August 1, 2024. He was the eldest son of Earl Raymond and Myrtle Violet (Tompkins) Guengerich (both deceased).

Born in Newton (KS), Lawayne briefly lived in Hesston (KS), before moving to Iowa. There, he mostly grew up in Wellman, Daytonville, and West Chester (IA), where he helped with the family farm, was raised in the Mennonite Church, and was active in school athletics -- sporting the nickname “Turk” because his dad raised turkeys. He attended his senior year of high school as a prep student at Hesston College. He went to work as a groundskeeper at Greensburg Mennonite Hospital, in Greensburg, KS. There, he met his future wife, Doneta June (Yoder) Guengerich (deceased).

They were married December 22, 1957, in Rocky Ford, CO, moving to Wichita, KS to live their early married years, having their first son (Steve) in 1959. Lawayne and Doneta moved briefly to Great Bend, KS, before returning to Wichita in 1962. There, Lawayne joined the emergency ambulance service, first working as a crew chief for Gold Cross and later tapped to be general manager. It was during this time that Doneta was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Even with the diagnosis, they decided to live lives boldly, together, having their second son (Frank) in 1963.

Dedicated to his wife, Doneta, throughout their lives, Lawayne devoted his later life to her caretaking, as she managed through more than fifty years with MS. All agree that his selfless, relentless care and compassion for her extended her life by a decade or more than would otherwise have been likely.

To his sons, Lawayne was a magical person, always positive, always grateful, and always there for them. Every morning, when they’d wake up to go to school – from elementary through high school – their lunch money would be there on the kitchen table waiting for them. He helped both boys every Sunday morning at 5 am fold newspapers for the paper route they shared, loading them in his “gangster”-door Thunderbird, then driving them through the pitch-dark neighborhoods to deliver the papers.

Professionally, after paying his dues in earlier years, Lawayne became a serial entrepreneur. In 1967, he got financial support to open his own emergency ambulance service. He and Doneta moved their family from Wichita to Amarillo, TX, where they lived for 15 years. From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, he owned the Texas panhandle’s primary emergency medical first responder Metropolitan Ambulance Service. With headquarters operations in Amarillo, Metropolitan served the surrounding areas with distinction, with additional locations in Canyon and Pampa, Texas and Clovis, New Mexico, plus an air ambulance transport. He and his Metropolitan team routinely saved lives and delivered babies for the West Texas community for many years.

In 1982, he and Doneta exited the ambulance service and moved to Dallas, TX, co-managing a Public Storage together for many years, before retiring and settling in Lake Granbury Harbor, TX. His final move with Doneta was to Austin, in September of 2009, to be nearer their family, where they lived the remainder of their lives.

For anyone that knew Lawayne, the words “selfless” and “generous” commonly come to mind. He treated everyone by the golden rule, never meeting a person that he didn’t make feel like they were the center of the world. He loved Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali (both the younger and older versions of each), dirt track racing and motorcycling, camping with Doneta and his boys in their Shasta camper, Dallas Cowboys football -- especially when Tom Landry was coach, and owning cool cars…with Cadillacs and Thunderbirds counting as his personal favorites. In his professional years, he always wore a suit and tie; while later, in retirement, he always wore a classy, brimmed hat. He’ll be missed and all who knew him will grieve his loss for a long, long time.

Lawayne is survived by four of his five siblings, Lilly (Lyle) Miller (Iowa City, IA), Wilson (Karen) Guengerich (Washington, IA), Calvin (Angie) Guengerich (Amarillo, TX), and Marilyn (Mark Sykes) Guengerich (Tuscon, AZ); two sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Rebecca Guengerich, of Austin, TX, and Frank and Terri Guengerich, of Amarillo, TX; five grandchildren, Lauren Guengerich, of Minneapolis, MN; Benjamin (Lauren Huffman) Guengerich, also of Minneapolis, MN; Andrew Guengerich, of Boulder, CO; Courtney (Justin) Hempe, of Stafford, VA; and, Allison Guengerich, of Atlanta, GA; and, four great grandchildren, Julian Benjamin Guengerich, Brennen Crew Hempe, Isabel Joyce Guengerich, and Chloe Adaline Hempe.

A private, family memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 17, 10am, at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Austin, TX. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the National MS Society.