Wayne “Terry” Schneider of Hillsborough NC (age 88) passed away quietly on October 1, 2026, while in the care of Duke Hospital Hospice, Hock Family Pavilion in Durham NC. Born on September 4, 1938, in Winston-Salem, NC, Wayne was the first of four children of William Schneider and Frieda (Otto) Schneider. As a young child, his family moved to New Castle PA where he grew up. Upon graduating high school, he enlisted in the US Navy, and spent five years (1956-1961), primarily deployed on the USS Dewey Destroyer. During his service years, he received special training in electronic communications technology, which served him well in his post-military career in electronics and computer technology. His early career and marriage were spent in Florida, where he and his wife Shirley had three children. During his mid-life and career, his marriage to Shirley ended, he identified himself as a gay man and subsequently moved to North Carolina to restart his life. Throughout the rest of his life, Terry was known as a strong advocate for the rights of, and justice for, the LGBTQ community in North Carolina, especially in the Orange/Alamance Counties area. 

He held several high-tech positions with leading technology companies, including Honeywell Technologies, and eventually acquired a career position at Duke University in Durham, NC, in the computer technology support division, which he held until his retirement. After he retired from Duke, he started in Hillsborough his own computer repair and printing company, which he owned and operated well into his seventies. 

Terry is survived by his ex-wife Shirley Schneider, his three children: Wayne Schneider (in Sebastian, FLA), Craig Schneider and wife Dany Schneider (in Melbourne, FLA.), Kim Labate and husband Doug (in Greer, SC); his sister Joanne Jackson and husband Bobby (in Spartanburg, SC). There is a total of seven grandchildren, and four (going on five) great grandchildren. There is also a half-brother Oliver Schneder (in Livermore, OH). Terry is also survived by his long-time domestic partner of nearly 40 years, Acey Tharrington (in Hillsborough NC).

 A viewing will be held for family members and close friends on Sunday, October 4th from 11:00-1:00 at Endswell Funeral Home in Hillsborough. In the coming days, after the aquamation process reduces Terry’s remains to a fine powder, family members in Florida will take those powdered remains out into the Atlantic Ocean for a private burial at sea, something that Terry had expressed his wish for, and in so doing figuratively completing his “tour of duty” for the US Navy, exactly 70 years after he was a young 18- year-old US Navy enlistee. If there are any additional plans for a local short memorial service in the future, they will be posted on the Endswell website: www.endswellfuneralhome.com . 

Charitable gifts in memory of Wayne “Terry” Schneider can be made to: 

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Hillsborough, P.O. Box 275, Hillsborough, NC 27278 ( www.uuchnc.org ) 

Or, Eckankar in NC--Path to Spiritual Freedom ( www.eckankar-nc.org )