Obituary of Wayne Lee Vinal

Wayne Lee Vinal, 74, of Eastford, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ surrounded by his family on May 11, 2012. He leaves his loving wife of 50 years, Effie J. (Lane) Vinal; two sons, Richard and wife Amy of Woodstock, Timothy and wife Mary Jo of Owenton, KY; four daughters, Jeanne Griswold and husband Kirk of Newmanstown, PA; Christine Hustus and husband David of Eastford; Brenda Ng and husband Jerry of Puyallup, WA and Faith Pollina and husband David of Gozo, Malta. He also leaves adopted son, Dave Alisentono and wife Kathy of Lewisville, TX; three adopted daughters, Svitlana Lukyanchenko and Tetyana Lukyanchenko, both of Eastford and Veronica Mironova of Donets'ka Oblast', Ukraine; two sisters, Alice Congdon of Woodstock and Faye Rogers of San Diego, CA; mother-in-law, Leona Lane of Woodstock; 20 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by infant daughter, Amanda; infant grandson, Joseph Vinal; four brothers, Guy Jr., Louis, Paul and John and one sister, Barbara. He was born in Bangor, Maine, February 23, 1938 the son of the late Guy and Dorothy (Cronin) Vinal and had made his home in Eastford for the past 50 years. He was a 1956 graduate of Woodstock Academy. He enlisted in the US Air Force in 1958 where he served four years. He returned to Connecticut and enrolled at Ellis Tech Aircraft Maintenance Program, graduating in 1965. He then enlisted in the CT Army National Guard at Groton, CT, where he maintained aircraft for 23 years. After retiring from the guard, he returned to Ellis Tech as an instructor and trained aircraft mechanics for 17 years, retiring in 2011. In 2011, he was awarded the Charles Taylor Award for 50 years of service in aviation. He was a faithful member of Eastford Baptist Church where he served as a youth group leader, a mission board member, executive board member and hospitality committee member where he was affectionately known to many as "Grampa Donuts." He actively participated in missions, traveling to Suriname and Ukraine. He served his community for more than 40 years on the parade committee, organizing the annual Memorial Day Parade. In 1987, he began the tradition of honoring a veteran each year on Memorial Day. In 2011, he was awarded this honor by the Town of Eastford. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, May 19, at 4:00 pm, at the Eastford Baptist Church, 133 Union Rd., Eastford, CT. Because of his involvement in missions and youth work, the family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to one of the following: Eastford Baptist Missions Fund or Eastford Baptist Teen Club, 133 Union Rd., Eastford, CT 06242. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" 2 Timothy 4:7-8 To share a memory with his family, "Light a Candle" at www.smithandwalkerfh.com