Obituary of Wayne A. Rouse

On July 26th, 1956, our beloved Wayne Antonio Rouse was born to the late Alvin and Helen Rouse in Philadelphia, PA. He was raised in West Philadelphia, along with his 7 sisters and 1 brother. As a growing teen in high school, Wayne’s dad nicknamed him “Eat em’ up” because he enjoyed eating huge bowls of cereal, fries, hot dogs, and almost everything that was in the refrigerator. Wayne received his education in the Philadelphia public school system and graduated from Overbrook High School. After high school, Wayne enlisted in the U.S. Army and served for two years. He then joined the U.S. Army Reserve to continue serving the country while working at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as an Inventory Specialist. As a young boy, he enjoyed playing games with his sisters and spending time with friends in the neighborhood. Wayne learned weight lifting from his brother in-law Bobby and he continued this interest in his adult life. Wayne and Lil met in 1996 at her job working at Shelley’s Pharmacy. He came into the pharmacy to get his cigarettes and lemon pies. Wayne loved lemon pies! Due to his daily visits to the pharmacy Wayne and Lil developed a friendship. Antonio as he was affectionally known, married Lil on April 4th, 2004 at Cathedral Baptist Church where she is a member. Wayne became a member and was baptized a little while later. Wayne became a member of the usher board. He truly loved his church family. Wayne and Lil built a life together, they enjoyed eating out, traveling, clothes shopping, and attending sporting events like basketball and football. He truly loved his wife and she truly loved him! After leaving Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Wayne held various job positions. He later became employed with Penske as a Control Specialist. Wayne held this position until his recent passing. In the early morning of Saturday, May 14, 2022, Wayne unexpectedly and peacefully was taken to be with the Lord. Wayne was blessed with a large and adoring family, who will hold on to and share all the cherished memories and stories of his life. He leaves behind his loving wife, Lil, his blended family; daughter La’Tonia Cook (LaShandra and Dontae), sons Ronald (Beth), Jason, and Ryan, his 7 sisters and 1 brother, Dorothy, Evelyn, Beverly (Robert, Sr), Linda, Alvin (Junie Boy), Regina, Diane (Homer), and Sheila, his mother in-law Dolores Jones, 4 sister in-laws; Beatrice Jones, Francine Jones, Janet Jones, and Betty Green, 2 brother in-laws; Terry Jones and Adam Jones, God children Kia and Pebbles, and a hosts of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.