Wayne A. Marschel (Wayne August Marschel)

Wayne August Marschel, known to friends and neighbors in Waite Park, Minnesota as a longtime Air Force veteran, died on October 17, 2026, at his home, surrounded by his family. He was 81 years old.

Marschel was born on October 23, 1944. As a young man he enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1962, beginning a career in military administration that took him to postings around the world. He served for more than two decades, rising through the enlisted ranks to become a Chief Master Sergeant, the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force, before his honorable discharge in 1988.

After leaving active military administration, Marschel continued working until his retirement in 2003, when he returned to Minnesota and settled in Waite Park, a small city adjacent to St. Cloud in the central part of the state. He spent his remaining years there, close to family, in the community he had chosen for his retirement after a career spent largely away from home in service to the country.

Marschel was remembered by his family as a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He was married to his wife, Marge, and the couple built a blended family together that included his children, her son, and a wide circle of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Those who knew him have described a man whose decades in uniform shaped a life defined by steadiness and quiet service, first to the Air Force and later to his family and community in central Minnesota.

News of his death was shared through a funeral home notice and obituary rather than a national announcement, reflecting his life as a respected veteran and family man rather than a figure of wide public fame. His family announced that a memorial service celebrating his life would be held in St. Cloud, and tributes from relatives and the local community have focused on his long military service and his role as a steady presence in the lives of his children and grandchildren.