Biography: Submitted by: Rayna Rozynski (nee McAllister), eldest sister

 

Born on August 6, 1964 in the Sutherland Shire of Sydney, Australia, Wayne John began his journey through life.  Wayne was the middle son of Engineer John Roy McAllister (who went by his middle name Roy) & his wife Mavis.  Wayne has 1 older brother Darel, 2 older sisters Rayna & Gail & a much younger brother Nigel.

Wayne grew up in a happy & loving Christian family in the suburb of Gymea Bay in Sydney’s south where the children all attended Sunday-School & later on Youth Groups at Gymea Baptist Church.  His 2 sisters Rayna & Gail were married at this church.

A happy child with the most gorgeous dimples as a youngster, beautiful soft sparkling eyes & a smile that could melt the most hardened was Wayne. 

Wayne started school at Gymea Bay Public in 1969 & continued through to Kirrawee High school where he was a gifted & talented scholar who was extremely popular with his peers & thus became school captain of both his Primary & Secondary schools.

After completing his Higher School Certificate in 1982, Wayne went on to obtain a “Bachelor of Arts” degree in 1986 from the University of Sydney & in 1996 obtained an MBA in “International Business” also from Sydney University.

An accomplished pianist, Wayne could improvise & learned to play by ear so many enjoyable sing-a-longs were held around the family piano with both his sister Rayna & younger brother Nigel playing this instrument as well.

Wayne also learnt to play the flute (an instrument now played by his eldest daughter Ashleigh) & joined his father & brother-in-law Tony on the harmonica for more sing-a-longs during family camping holidays to beachside destinations.

 As youngsters, the McAllister family enjoyed some memorable summer holidays at a favourite camping spot called “Elim” on Wallis Lake at Forster, 5 hours north of Sydney.  All the children & the 2 family pet poodles would be bundled into the car for the journey to Forster where they all fished & swam & just enjoyed the wonderful Australian outdoors!

 An animal lover, Wayne’s family had a menagerie from pet poodles, cats, an assortment of birds (cockatiels, galahs, budgerigars, cockatoos, parrots etc.), mice, guinea pigs, fish, ducks & more.  It was not uncommon to see them all wandering around the family home & garden.

An interest in gardening & landscape led Wayne to build an outdoor pond in the McAllister family backyard where he raised some enormous Koi fish that he fed by hand.

Wayne enjoyed playing A-grade soccer for Gymea United and later went on to coach his younger brother Nigel’s team when he joined the soccer ranks.

 Growing up, the McAllister family home was always a happy one that was full of laughter with numerous friends visiting the different family members & socialising with the entire family.  Sunday nights in particular at the McAllister family residence were always a favourite with boyfriends & girlfriends sharing stories, jokes, a meal & hot chocolates around the family fireplace!After meeting Leanne Eardley through the “National Roads & Motorists Association” in Sydney where they both worked & a brief courtship, Wayne married Leanne on December 10, 1988 & went on to produce 3 beautiful children, Daniel (20 yrs), Ashleigh (18 yrs) & Brittney (15 yrs) whom he adored & was so very proud of.

 Wayne’s pet dogs Chloe (Poodle cross Cocker Spaniel) & Buddy (Golden Retriever) would later join the family in the US and were the “apple of his eye”!

 By 1997, Wayne was working for the Videoconferencing Coy “PictureTel” in Sydney & was given the opportunity in 1998 to move to Singapore where his daughter Brittney was born.

 In 2000 the family moved to Massachusetts, then Colorado & finally Northern Virginia

Wayne joined Cisco 4 years ago with the acquisition of TANDBERG, where he previously held the position of SVP of TANDBERG Global Services.  He’s had a varied career running high tech Services organizations at companies including Polycom, Spectralink, PictureTel and Gateway.  He had extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions as well as career long international business management - having worked in the US, Singapore and Australia. Wayne lived in Northern Virginia with his wife and three teenage children.  He was an avid triathlete, having completed over 60 events, including a full ironman in 2011 and numerous half ironman events.  He also enjoyed skiing, cycling, hiking and playing piano.  He loved to learn new things and considered himself a DIY addict..

Wayne is loved by all of his 4 siblings who have had their own special relationship with him both growing up in the McAllister family home & later on finding ways to communicate with him over the great distance between Australia & the United States where he resided with his family for the past 15 years.

 

Wayne will be remembered by many for his Aussie “down to earth” nature, his kindness & generosity, his wit & humour, his great passion for life and that sparkle in his eye with the most wonderful warm & reassuring smile that we will all treasure forever.