LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Hall of Fame football and basketball player Wayne Kingery, 88, passed away on Thursday, June 2, in a local hospice facility.

A lifelong resident of Lake Charles, Mr. Kingery was a member of University United Methodist Church.  He played football and basketball at Lake Charles High School, LSU, McNeese State University and SLI, now University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

An inaugural inductee into the McNeese Athletics Hall of Fame in in 1980, Mr. Kingery excelled in two sports at McNeese – football and basketball – and is still the only Cowboy to ever have been named a most valuable player in both of those sports. Both honors came during the junior college days of the university.

He was named football MVP in 1946 and basketball in 1948. He would later go on to earn a degree from ULL and play in the professional ranks with the Baltimore Colts. He would also return to McNeese and serve as an assistant football coach in the 1950s before going into the banking business.

He was past President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, past Sr. Vice President of Lakeside National Bank, and past owner of Kingery’s Toys and Children’s Clothing.

Survivors include two sons, Daryl Kingery of Lake Charles and his son Colin Kingery of Tomball, Texas, and Jerry Kingery and wife Bridget and their sons, Cameron, Conner, and Crosby, all of Lake Charles; four daughters,  Beverly Kingery and her daughter, Tiffany Tackitt of San Antonio, Texas; Kay Kingery Delange and husband Rich and their sons, Taylor, Ryan, and Casey of Houston, Texas; Hope Kingery Sanders and husband Bobby and their son Kayden and daughter Bailey, all of Lake Charles; and Autumn Kingery Ardoin and her husband Casey and their children Jett and Lyla, also of Houston; and one brother, Ellsworth Kingery and his family of Monroe, Louisiana.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Kingery and two brothers, Edwin Kingery and Don Kingery.

Service information can be found online at www.johnsonfuneralhome.net