Wayne L. Combs, age 80, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, died peacefully on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. He is survived by his daughter, Christin L. Whitehead (nee Combs) of Wright City, MO and his sister Priscilla C. (Joe) Addison of Richmond, KY, his brother-in-law Danny Akers of West Liberty, KY and several nieces, nephews and cousins. He is proceeded in death by his wife, Virginia CAROL Combs (nee Melton), his brother, Quentin C. Combs, his parents Henry C. and Alma L. Combs, his sister-in-law, Dana C. Akers and his son-in-law David N. Whitehead.
Wayne was born on December 30, 1941 in Hazard, Kentucky. He graduated in 1960 from N.C. Napier High School. In 1977 he graduated from Park University with a major in Communications and a Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He graduated in 1981 with a Doctor of Ministry also from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He was known for his booming “radio voice”. The majority of his professional life was spent as a broadcaster and radio station manager. He started at age 16 as a DJ in 1958 at his hometown station, but rapidly transitioned to news, where he covered national and political events such as interviewing Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr., celebrity interviews, presidential debates, a Richard Nixon KC presidential visit and a John F. Kennedy visit to a military installation in Norfolk, VA. He was heard on the following radio stations: WKIC (Hazard, KY), WBLG (Lexington, KY), WGH (Norfolk, VA), WSGN (Birmingham, Alabama, WIL (St. Louis, MO), WHB (Kansas City, MO), KBEQ (Kansas City, MO), KZZC (Leavenworth, KS), KCFM (Kansas City, MO), KMZU (Carrollton, MO) and KRES (Moberly, MO)
Wayne was also a man of faith. Not only did he broadcast news events but also the “Good News” as he served as a minister for five different congregations in 2 states. He was pastor of the Dawn Baptist Church (Dawn, Missouri), served as a Southern Baptist home missionary of the Lincoln County Chapel in WV, the Horsepen Baptist Church in Horsepen, WV, the White Ridge Baptist Church in Lee’s Summit, MO and the New Hope Baptist Church in Peculiar, MO using his talents ministering in those communities. Since retirement, he has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Lee’s Summit where he served with his late wife on the We Care team visiting shut-ins.
He was also an academic teaching communication courses for Baker University, Avila College and seminary extension courses in West Virginia. He also wrote 2 books, “Singing from the Gallows” about his great grandfather, outlaw, Bad Tom Smith, and an autobiography, Improbable Encounters: Story of a Broadcast Journalist.
Funeral Services for Wayne will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Lee’s Summit on Friday, April 15, 2022 at 2 p.m. with a visitation beginning at 12 p.m. Internment will follow at West Union Cemetery in Peculiar, MO.
Arrangements by Langsford Funeral Home, 115 SW 3rd, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063.
