Wayne Allen Sexton

Wayne Allen Sexton, 84, passed away on May 14, 2023 in Porterville, California.

Wayne was born on February 16, 1939 to Garland Sexton and Hazel Sexton Dyer in Antlers, Oklahoma. After graduating from Antlers High School and the death of his father in 1958, he moved with his mother Hazel and sister Clara to Arvin, California in 1959.

He soon went to work for Bank of America in Arvin, which started his illustrious career in banking. He met the love of his life, Carol Salyards that same year. He often told us that he would make sure she used his teller window at the bank when she came in to cash her check so he could talk to her. They were married in Lamont, California in February 1960 and had two children, Teresa and Dennis.

In 1962, Wayne went to work for Finance and Thrift in Wasco as a manager. Wayne and Carol moved to Shafter, California where they raised their children. Wayne was a catalyst in opening up a new branch of Finance and Thrift in Shafter and was soon supervising offices up and down the Central Valley.

In 1982, Wayne and Carol moved to Porterville, California where he took over as president of Finance & Thrift in 1983. He took great pride in working for Finance & Thrift serving their customers and shareholders. He retired in 1999 and maintained his position on the board of directors for numerous years after retirement.

Wayne had a love of flying and obtained his pilot license in 1976. He eventually bought a Cessna and logged thousands of miles taking friends and family on flights all over California, Laughlin, Nevada and occasionally Harris Ranch for a steak dinner. He was one of the last pilots to fly out of the Springville Airport.

Wayne and Carol enjoyed traveling and were fortunate to be able to travel to multiple places with friends including Alaska, New Zealand, Australia, and Costa Rica just to name a few. Wayne bought a motorhome so they could travel the country and had many memorable trips with friends and family. He truly enjoyed the motor home trips, but his favorite vacations were the ones spent with family in Dardanelle, California. There his family spent many summers fishing, hiking, sitting around the campfire, telling stories and feasting on trout, hush puppies and homemade biscuits. He was also fortunate to get to spend time with his grandchildren in Dardanelle. It truly was one of his favorites places to go.

Wayne was involved with many organizations in his community. He was a member of the Porterville Noon Rotary where he served a term as president and was a Paul Harris Fellow recipient. He also served on the board of Sierra View District Hospital. In 1997, he was awarded Man of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce for his service to the community. He was proud of Porterville and supported many community events and fundraisers

Wayne enjoyed a good practical joke and had a wonderful sense of humor. He enjoyed a good laugh, and there were many. He loved to talk and once you met him, he never forgot your name. He enjoyed time spent with his family and was an attentive and doting grandfather to his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Wayne is survived by his wife Carol, daughter Teresa Fahsbender and husband Bryan, son Dennis Sexton and wife Shannon, five grandchildren, Haley Capetillo and husband Marc, Eric Fahsbender and wife Jyzelle, Taylor Davis and husband Shawn, Zachary Sexton and Riley Sexton and four great grandchildren, Harper and Preston Capetillo and Olivia and Robert Fahsbender. He is also survived by his sister Clara Davis, numerous nieces, nephews, friends, and best friend Charles Howard whom he called his “brother”.

We will miss Wayne and want to give our thanks to Eva, Vicki, Theresa and the others at Bella Home in Porterville for their loving care of Wayne. We also want to thank Bristol Hospice and Jana for seeing Wayne through this time. You all have been such a blessing to our family.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, June 1, 2023, 11 AM at the Porterville Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1088 W. Linda Vista, Porterville, California.

Wayne will remain in our hearts and lives forever and we have faith that we will see him soon. He will be missed.