Ernest Wayne Spriggs
Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, 63, Experimental Flight Test Pilot, died Friday, December 6, 2019. Visitation will be from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Thursday, December 12, 2019, at Downing & Lahey West Mortuary. Funeral Service will be at 10:00 am, Friday, December 13, 2019, at Pathway Church. Preceded in death by his mother, Ruby Darlene Olmstead. Survived by his father, Ernest Albert (Twee) Spriggs; wife, Jennifer Beth Spriggs; daughters, Shenna (Jeff) Coates, Andrea (Matt) Smith, Ashley Thomas, Linsey (Nick) Walker; son, Scott Spriggs; sister, Cindy (Frank) Artiles; 15 grandchildren; in-laws, Gene and Janet Carlson. Wayne was a passionate pilot, husband, father, and grandfather. He enjoyed playing and writing music and playing strategic board games. A memorial has been established with: Doc’s Friends, PO Box 771089, Wichita, KS 67277.
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Our condolences to the entire Spriggs family. Such a good man. He will be missed for his humor, kindness, and geeky toys.
My condolences to Wayne’s family. He was a great guy and a good pilot. I always enjoyed our Monday evening games. I wish Wayne had the time to play more. He will be missed.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Mick Mansfield lit a candle
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Pat & Moe Girard lit a candle
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Amy Debbrecht lit a candle
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Terri Swadener lit a candle
Such sad news. Wayne was an incredible person, a world class test pilot, and best of all a great friend. Enjoy your new wings Captain. You deserve them. Please know our prayers are with everyone in your family during this difficult time.
Wayne Spriggs was my church youth leader when I was an ornery teenager with a mullet. He had a young family of his own at the time and yet I remember him being a devoted, ‘genuinely interested in me’ kind of man. I appreciated the amount of time and personal sacrifice he spent in service to me and the small group of young men that looked up to him. My fondest memory of working with Wayne was a scout high adventure trip we took to Colorado when I was 16. Wayne took a week of his paid-time off to go with us. His son was not old enough to participate. While camping out on the mountainside before summitting the next day, several of us young men got together in a small tent to play cards and horse around. We quickly became loud, obnoxious and crude in our language. The next morning while trying to get warm over the campfire, Wayne softly and boldly mentioned what he heard the night before and the disappointment he felt for how we had behaved. No yelling. No threats. Just the quiet expression of disappointment. My heart still aches to this day! A powerful lesson. Today, I so appreciate the calm way he led us. When my teenage kids drive me and my wife crazy, I remember that tone and language of Wayne. So glad he chose to be a part of my life.
You will be missed!
You will be missed friend. I loved our crews and flights together. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Carole Pilon lit a candle
Laura & I send our condolences to Wayne’s family and friends. A great individual with a big heart he will surely be missed by many.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Frank Magnusson lit a candle
Wayne had such a wide range of interests and brought so much fun to those that knew him. From being an excellent and knowledgeable test pilot to musician to gamer he was amazing and will be missed. My condolences to his family and many friends.
Wayne was a joy to fly with and will be sadly missed. Condolences to his entire family.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Tiffany lit a candle
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Daniel W Menzies lit a candle
Wayne and I enjoyed many Flight Tests. He was a a good Pilot and a good friend. He will be missed.
My deepest condolences to Wayne’s family and loved ones. I have enjoyed working on several projects with Wayne and found him very thorough and knowledgable. He will be missed. I still owe him a drink
We offer our deepest sympathies for Jennifer and family in this most difficult time. I have such fond flight test work memories with Wayne. I was also lucky enough to share a music passion with him and I will truly treasure these memories. Wayne will be sorely missed!
I enjoyed working with Wayne. He was kind, respectful and honest. My sincerer condolences to the family.
My deepest and sincere condolences to Wayne’s family and loved ones. May all the beautiful memories of be a blessing to you.
My condolences to the family. It was shocking news. Be strong. Samir N. Bombardier, Montreal.
Deepest condolences and sincere sypmathy to Wayn’s family & beloved ones. May all those who bear love and respect for Wayne stand the present difficult time with patience and acceptance.
It was a pleasure to work with him in different projects. My sincere condolences to Wayne’s family.
I enjoyed working with Wayne. He was a great test pilot and his knowledge, experience and camaraderie will be dearly missed. I offer my condolences to all his family.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Razvan Salcianu lit a candle
My sincere condolences to Wayne’s family and friends. It was a pleasure and an honor to have had the chance to know him and work with him. May his memory be eternal.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Nolan Barnes lit a candle
My condolences and my prayers to Wayne’s family. It was always a pleasure working with Wayne. He was a great test pilot and a great friend. He will be missed.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Mark Metcalf lit a candle
Wayne was great to work with at Textron Aviation. I am so sorry to hear of his sudden passing. Kindest regards and heartfelt sympathies to his family. God Bless.
You will be missed…
Wayne was always a safety-minded professional test pilot who always cared about the people first. Wayne was a good friend. I always enjoyed game night over at his place. You will be sorely missed.
I was so saddened by learning of the passing of Wayne Spriggs last Friday. A kind man, he generously gave me tips on How to form a band for one of my organ POPs concerts. My most sincere prayers and condolences go out to the family and friends of this great man.
I was sincerely saddened in finding out through Facebook about the sudden passing away of Wayne Spriggs. He had been very kind to help and advise me in choosing a band for one of my organ POPS concert. And I ‘ll never forget how much time and care he took to give me good and thorough ideas. I pray for all his family in this terrible moment of separation and send my most sincere condolences, that you may all be healed. Lynne Davis
Wayne was a great pilot and a great person I will always remember him for helping make my life at Cessna a great place to work .
So sorry to hear of Wayne’s passing. Prayers for Wayne and his family.
Sherrie & I send our deepest sympathy and prayers for Jennifer, Ernie, and the family. I was a new flight test engineer and copilot when I started flying with Wayne. In a profession dominated by Type-A personalities, ego, and the such, Wayne was a humble fun-loving guy that enjoyed two things about Flight Test- flying the test and doing it right. He was gracious in praise for all involved when things went right and shouldered the responsibility when things didn’t. I learned a lot in a short time from an amazing individual that I had the pleasure to call a mentor and friend. Godspeed Wayne, you now have perfect flight.
We are so sorry for your loss. One of my mom’s (Gail Johnson ~ Auntie Gail) memories of Wayne is that he was such a good baby. His mother had a hard time with the delivery, and called my mom to be with her. After Wayne was born, he was such a good baby. He would lay there wide awake and never fuss. Just knowing he is gone has put a hole in her life. I didn’t have a lot of contact with my cousin Wayne for a lot of years, but I know he was a kind man who loved his children, music and flying. Sending blessings to the family.
My deepest and sincere condolences to Wayne’s family. I had the chance to work with Wayne on several Bombardier certification projects. He never missed an occasion to share his passion for music and aviation. Wayne will be missed.
I want to offer my most heartfelt sympathies to Mr. Spriggs family. Wayne and I worked on several key projects together, and I had the pleasure of meeting him and talking to him on several occasions when I visited BFTC. He was a pleasant person to talk to and we will all miss him dearly.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Andy Rusch lit a candle
Wayne Spriggs joined my professional life three years ago. I was overwhelmed by the passion and dedication he brought to our flight test discipline. Wayne, you will be missed so much. A grateful group of comrades is left a little less capable, a little less passionate and a little dimmer with your passing. With deepest sympathy, Desmond Brophy, Experimental Test Pilot and Flight Ops Manager, Viking Air Limited, Canada.
In Memory of Wayne Spriggs Wayne was my best friend and I will deeply miss him. We first met in person when I went to work at the Bombardier Flight Test Center in Wichita. But we had actually flown in formation together when he was at Cessna and I was at Boeing Wichita flying the KC-767 Tanker. Wayne was one of our Cessna safety chase pilots so we had briefed over the phone and flew together many times. When Boeing Wichita closed and I was then hired at Bombardier, I was assigned to the Challenger program where Wayne was the Challenger Project Pilot. He took me under his wing and made me feel at home. Wayne was always a great mentor to me on the aspects of Bombardier airplanes and Transport Canada certification. We flew many Challenger flight tests together during our three years at BFTC. Wayne was one of the best test pilots I have ever flown with over my 40 year career in flight test. We shared the same passion for flying, it was what we did. Then we started a new chapter of our lives together with AeroTec. Our beloved “K+17” (Michel Korwin-Szymanowski), previously from BFTC, hired us both as AeroTec consultant Test Pilots on the new Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) test program. So we both started our own companies, collaborating on how to do that and on our contracts, and launched this new adventure. We traveled to AeroTec HQ in Seattle and “on-boarded” on Feb 17, 2016. The next morning we were off to Japan on ANA Business Class. What a trip! We had all the kinds of Sushi and Sake they had. From Narita we took the Express train to Shinagawa Station in Tokyo then changed to the Shinkansen “Bullet Train” to Nagoya, almost a 3 hour trip after our long day so we took turns napping so we wouldn’t both sleep through the brief stop at Nagoya Station. Then we shared almost two months of training on MRJ at Mitsubishi Nagoya Airport, and many lunches & dinners at various restaurants, while staying at the Marriott Nagoya Hotel. Wayne liked to try a different Japanese dish every meal, even though American fast food such as McDonald’s was available, and he would always take a cell phone photo of the dish and send to Jennifer. While the training in Nagoya was long and hard, those were some of the best days of our lives. For my friend, Sim partner, mentor, and one hell of a bass player, it was God’s blessing to have known Wayne Spriggs and shared so much together.
Good by my friend. I really enjoyed working with you and talking about music.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Cameron Miller lit a candle
I would like to express my sincere condolences to the Spriggs family. I had the chance to work with Wayne on many projects at Bombardier. I highly valued his knowledgeable input. It was a great pleasure and honor to have worked with him. I hope to see one day the famous B-29 he was working on and remember him and his great passion for aviation.
As a test pilot’s test pilot, Wayne will be sorely missed by an aerospace community his accomplishments have helped to define. And, as an enthusiastic friend and advocate, he leaves a hole that will not soon be filled, for his friends and colleagues.
In memory of Ernest “Wayne” Spriggs, Brent Staley lit a candle
My sincere condolences to Wayne’s family. I have had the chance to work with Wayne on Bombardier Challenger projects. Wayne will be missed.
I had the good fortune to interact with Wayne when he was working toward some of his musical endeavors several years ago… He was always enthusiastic about learning and was a huge supporter of Scott’s musical progress as the years went by…My sincere condolences to the entire Spriggs family..
Condolences to Wayns family. He was a great guy to work with. RIP
You will be missed by so many. Fly high. And hug that Quigley puppy. Thanks for all you taught me.
Please accept our deepest condolences for your family’s loss.