S. Wayne Opdyke

05/11/2006

S. Wayne Opdyke, 95, of Sugar Hill Senior Living Community in Dalton, formerly of 32 Summer St., died Thursday at Berkshire Medical Center. He moved to Sugar Hill in 2004. Born in Washington, N.J., on April 7, 1911, son of Percy and Ethel Snyder Opdyke, he graduated from Newark (N.J.) School of Fine and Industrial Arts. During World War II, he was employed by El duPont de Nemours & Co. in Philadelphia. Mr. Opdyke was employed by Williamson & Co. in Caldwell, N.J., as a mechanical engineer, retiring in 1973. He and his wife, the former Vivienne de St. Maurice, operated an antiques shop in Port Murray, N.J., until moving to Lanesborough in 1984. Both were landscape artists and founding members of the Kittatinny Arts Association of New Jersey. They were married Aug. 23, 1935, and she died in 1997. He played bass with a number of bands in the 1930s, including those of Fred Waring, Ken Rader and Will Bradley. He was a charter and lifelong member of the New Jersey chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America. He restored antique automobiles, including a classic 1931 Lancia Dilambda that he sold to the Harrah Collection in Reno, Nev. In his 80s, he restored a 1953 Packard convertible, which he drove in the 1993 Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade. He was a member of St. Luke's Church. He leaves a daughter, Gabrielle "Gae" Elfenbein of Lanesborough; a sister, Arlene Dzuban of Tucson, Ariz.; four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. A son, David W. Opdyke, died in 1983. FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for S. Wayne Opdyke, who died Thursday, May 11, 2006, will be held Sunday, May 21, at 2 at St. Luke's Church in Lanesborough. Interment will be in Summerfield Cemetery in Hazen, N.J., at a later date. Donations in Mr. Opdyke's memory may be made to the St. Luke's 2006 Building Fund or the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, Pa., through DEVANNY-CONDRON FUNERAL HOME, 40 Maplewood Ave., Pittsfield, MA 01201, which is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Opdyke was a man of many talents.

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