Native Sparks resident Wayne A. Frediani passed away suddenly on February 1 of this year.
He was well-known throughout the area and throughout Nevada as he was executive director of the Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers Association. In that post he represented the more than one hundred dealers throughout the state. His duties necessitated numerous trips to major cities in Nevada, regional meetings and annual trips to Washington, DC where issues of the NADA (National Auto Dealers Association) were discussed and legislation regarding the automotive industry was initiated.
I knew Wayne on a personal basis for the last fifteen years. We worked together on numerous projects mainly for the car business but also for a wide variety of charities. I first met him through our mutual friend, Jack Stanko, the owner of Champion Chevrolet.
At his services on February 10 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Sparks, it struck me that the name of the building made it a very appropriate place to hold the event, because the word “immaculate” would be an excellent appellation to apply to Wayne personally. He was always fastidious about his personal appearance and dress, washed his two cars at least once a day and maintained his office and home in neat-as-a-pin condition. As a matter of fact, I had the good fortune to observe his penchant for cleanliness when I walked in to my office one Monday morning, which happened to be adjacent to Wayne’s, and noticed that my desk had an obvious sheen to it. The pictures on the walls were sparkling and the entire room had the fragrance of air freshener to it. When I mentioned to Wayne that the janitors had done a super job he said, “No, I didn’t have anything to do yesterday, so I came down and cleaned your office and mine.”
Personality-wise, Wayne was gregarious, garrulous, good natured and generous to a fault. He made friends easily and quickly. I recall on one occasion, since golf was his sport of choice, we were guests of the El Dorado Hotel at a Reno Tahoe Open event. We met at the Hotel and were given a ride in an Eldo limo. By the time we reached Montreux, Wayne knew almost every facet of the driver’s life.
Since we were both avid sportsmen and had likewise graduated from the University of Nevada, we had many college stories to swap. We attended a number of basketball and football games at the U where Wayne was a long-time season ticket holder. Of all the alumni I ever met, Wayne was the most likely to bleed Nevada blue. His many activities at the University were well-chronicled in his extensive obituary. I often thought that if UNR ever gave a fan appreciation award, Wayne would be one of the first recipients. In addition to his love of sports, Wayne was also an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed many hunting expeditions with his peers throughout the country.
Wayne’s favorite expression was, “Go Pack!”