Fayne P. Wakeman
August 29, 1928 ~ January 8, 2025
Born in:
Albany, New York
Resided in:
Stone Mounrtain, Georgia
Stone Mountain, Georgia- Fayne P. Wakeman passed away peacefully on January 8, 2025, at the age of 96.
She was born in Albany, New York to Robert G. Powers and Josephine Austin Powers, and was married for 56 years to William C. Wakeman, who passed away in 2007. Her mother was a distant descendant of Matthew Thornton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Fayne lived much of her life in Albany and Schenectady New York and graduated from Albany’s Academy of the Holy Names and the College of St. Rose with an B.S. in Merchandising and Commerce. After graduation, she worked for the Ford Motor Company until she married Bill in 1951. After raising their family in Niskayuna NY, she and Bill moved to Stone Mountain Georgia in 1982.
Fayne was a loving mother and she was a woman of deep and abiding Catholic faith. She loved to sing, had a song in her heart, and had memorized many popular songs of the 30’s and 40’s. She had great humor and wit and she was a wonderful storyteller, especially about her Dad’s large Irish family. She loved to read and had a treasured library of thousands of books.
Fayne devoted much of her life to advocating for better education programs for disabled children. Her youngest daughter Claire was born severely disabled in 1962, a time when there were no programs for disabled children other than in large hospitals. She and Bill resolved to care for Claire in the home which they continued to do for Claire’s entire life. Fayne’s effective advocacy for the disabled reached the highest officials in New York and Georgia, and it continued from the 1970’s to 2015. Fayne also volunteered at St Clare’s Hospital and with reading instruction at St. Helen’s kindergarten. She was an active member of the Yellow Daisy Quilt Guild in Stone Mountain.
Fayne is survived by six of her seven children- William C. Wakeman of Roswell Ga., Robert G. Wakeman (Jayne) of Slingerlands NY, Fayne M. Wakeman of Atlanta Ga., Nancy M. Keegan (Joseph) of Baton Rouge La., James J. Wakeman (Gina) of Decatur Ga., and Thomas G. Wakeman (Karen) of Kingston NY. Her beloved daughter Claire died in 2015. Fayne is also survived by her twelve grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, her brother James A. Powers (Kathleen) of Buffalo NY and by many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved siblings Robert G. Powers and Gail Brady. The family would especially like to thank Fayne’s caregiver Carla Smith for her many years of devoted care and friendship, and also the staff at Pruitt Rehabilitation in Brookhaven Ga.
A Wake will be held at Wages & Sons Funeral Home Stone Mountain Chapel 1040 Main Street, Stone Mountain Ga. (770 469-9811) from 6-8pm (Rosary at 7pm) on Wednesday January 15, 2025. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church 600 Mountain View Drive, Stone Mountain Ga. at 11am on January 16, 2025. Burial will follow at Melwood Cemetary, Stone Mountain Ga.
Services
Funeral Mass: January 16, 2025 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Corpus Christi Catholic Church
600 Mountain View Dr
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
770-469-0395
Visitation: January 15, 2025 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Wages & Sons Stone Mountain Chapel
1040 Main Street
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
770-469-9811
Rosary: January 15, 2025 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Wages & Sons Stone Mountain Chapel
1040 Main Street
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
770-469-9811
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Bob and Jayne:
Although Ruth and I didn’t know your mother, it is clear from what we have heard and read about your mom, she was devoted, resolute and strong of spirit and mind. A tough gal!
The devotion she demonstrated over the years to your family, and especially to your sister, will be an everlasting tribute to her character and to her memory.
Thinking of you all.
Frank and Ruth
Your Mom was the finest person I ever had the pleasure of knowing. She was generous and thoughtful; always thinking of others before herself. She was liked by most everyone because she enjoyed talking with people and was genuinely interested in them. Curious about EVERYTHING, she read a variety of subjects, so she could talk about ANYTHING. She was always reading. It brought her such joy. Her favorite section of the New York Times (besides the Book Review) was called the Metropolitan Diary, which is short stories about life in NY City. She was grateful her daughter Nancy pointed it out to her and she never failed to mention this. She said she never would have found it because it was in the sports section!
Your Mom had such a strong and positive spirit. Her life was not easy, but she never complained. Instead, she found pleasure wherever she could…trips to Barnes & Noble, reading, movies, eating out, shopping, trips to Maine and singing. Her repertoire of songs is unmatched. And with all the lyrics to boot! Her nurses were amazed when she would ask their names and then sing a song with their names in it. They loved that! Her humor and sarcastic comments would crack them up. Your Mom was so unique…feisty, full of life and always cheerful and happy to see you. She made an impact on everyone she met. When she left Pruitt, the entire therapy staff came and said “We love you, Miss Fayne! We’ll miss you!” I never saw them do that for anyone else, and I was at Pruitt for a very long time.
Your Mom was a born entertainer. If it wasn’t singing, it was story telling. There was no end to the number of stories your Mom had in her memory. She had a story about everything…even kleenex! I’m sure you all remember the Ike and Tina Turner story about the ‘kleenek’. I saw your Mom every day and there was always a new story, either about her childhood or her kids’ childhoods. She loved all her kids and had stories about each of them, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There’s a talent for telling stories to keep them interesting and she certainly had it. Her stories were always animated with facial expressions, impressions or accents. One favorite memory is the night your Mom regaled us all (Fayne, Tommy, Karen, Dennis and I) with story after story after story. She had us all in stitches. The only thing that stopped her was that the “youngsters” had to go to bed. She could have gone on ALL night!
I will always remember her watching TV and laughing at Everybody Loves Raymond, Barney Miller or her favorite episodes of Andy Griffith. So, goodbye ‘Doll’. You were a ‘treasure’. I will forever be grateful to have had you in my life. I will think of you always and miss you dearly. You’re finally ‘home’. I hope you’re enjoying it. “Who wouldn’t?”
Love,