Doctor was teacher, fishing enthusiast

Wayne P. Weddington Jr. was a dedicated ear, nose and throat specialist and teacher, but he also had another passion: Fishing.

He would take his 38-foot boat out of the Trump Marina in Atlantic City, meet up with other guys with the same passion, and off they'd go in a flotilla of camaraderie.

Some of his more dramatic catches, like an occasional barracuda, he had stuffed and mounted to keep fresh the memories of the fights they put up.

Wayne Weddington, an otolaryngologist with a former practice in Mount Airy, who also was chairman of the otolaryngology department at Germantown Hospital, an Air Force veteran and a man gifted with a rich sense of humor and fine tenor singing voice, died of cancer Sunday. He was 76 and lived in Wyncote.

"He was compassionate, caring and kind," said his wife, the former Dolores Johnson. "He loved his work. He loved teaching."

Wayne was born in McGehee, Ark., to the Rev. Wayne P. Weddington Sr. and Amanda Lee. He graduated from Merrill High School in Pine Bluff, Ark., and won an eight-year college scholarship from the Reliable Insurance Co. of St. Louis after a week of intensive testing of his academic skills with other candidates.

He took pre-med courses at the University of Arkansas, from which he graduated in 1958. He went on to Howard University Medical School and graduated in 1963.

He met his future wife at Arkansas. They were a couple of teenagers, but they were in love. They married in 1957.

Wayne enlisted in the Air Force, where he completed his medical internship at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. He was assigned as a flight surgeon and served in Vietnam and Thailand.

Although he didn't talk about his service, it was apparent that he did not altogether escape combat.

He was discharged in 1968 with the rank of captain and moved to Philadelphia to do his residency at Temple University Hospital.

He then established a private practice in otolaryngology at Stenton Avenue and Upsal Street in Mount Airy.

In 1973, he joined the medical staff of Germantown Hospital and became chairman of the otolaryngology department. He taught medical students, lending his training and experience to help make new doctors. He closed his private practice in 2005 and joined the staff at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Although Wayne had an impressive voice, he didn't perform after college choirs. He was a big jazz fan and liked nothing better than kicking back as Miles Davis and John Coltrane belted out such hits as "Straight, No Chaser."

"He was very funny and very compassionate," his wife said. "He had great self-confidence. He was a happy guy."

Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Pamela Weddington; a son, Wayne P. Weddington III; a sister, June Fucles, and one grandchild.

Services: 11 a.m. May 15 at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, 25 W. Johnson St. A Kappa Alpha Psi service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County. n

Contact John F. Morrison at 215-854-5573 or morrisj@phillynews.com, or on Twitter @johnfmorrison.