Janice Wayne
A fixture in Rabun County for decades and beloved by the community, Janice Wayne passed away on Wednesday, June 24, at the age of 72.
Wayne – who many will remember as “Coach Wayne” – moved to Rabun County in 1976 and spent 38 years as a teacher and coach in the Rabun County School District.
During her time in the school district, she taught physical education (P.E.) and English and coached girls basketball, softball, and was involved in Wildcat athletics in a multitude of ways.
Wayne’s Rabun County tenure started at Rabun County High School when RCHS enrolled students in seventh through 12th grade.
Later in her career, Wayne transitioned to Rabun County Middle School where she continued coaching and teaching. Her RCMS girls basketball teams won several championships under her leadership.
“The Rabun County School System is deeply saddened by the passing of Ms. Janice Wayne,” Rabun County Schools Superintendent Steven Cole said in an emailed response. “While I did not have the privilege of knowing her as closely as so many in our schools and community did, I am incredibly aware of the profound legacy she leaves behind. Ms. Wayne was a shining star among our faculty. The genuine care and deep concern she held for her students and colleagues is profoundly evident in the overwhelming love and grief our community is sharing right now. She was a true treasure, and the Rabun County community was incredibly fortunate to have her impact our lives.”
Wayne and her partner of 46 years, the late Gail Crowe, dedicated their lives to Rabun County and its students, spending over three decades coaching, teaching and caring for students and members of the community.
Outside of the classroom and virtually any athletic facility in Rabun County, Wayne and Crowe also offered swimming lessons to countless children in the county.
“She’s just a steady presence in our community. Like anytime you think about our school, you can’t think about that without thinking of Coach Wayne,” said Rabun County High School head girls basketball coach DeeDee Dillard. “She started teaching here when I was 4 years old. So everyone my age and younger have known her and she’s been a part of their lives.”
Dillard played basketball and softball for Wayne as a student at RCHS before returning to the area to teach in the school district and become the head girls basketball coach at the high school.
“She’s just been an awesome person to have around. She’s the epitome of what high school coaching stands for,” Rabun County High School head boys basketball coach David Adcock said of Wayne. “It’s just not about the coaching aspect, about the X’s and O’s, but it’s just about caring about kids and caring about everybody around her, and in the community and in general.”
Wayne embraced and instilled Rabun County’s “mountain heritage” into those she taught and coached, Dillard said.
Those mountain heritage values that Wayne expected of each player and student was toughness, grit and discipline.
“She didn’t care if you were a girl, a boy, an athlete. I mean, she just expected your best every time,” said Rabun County school counselor April Adcock.
Adcock, a RCHS counselor, was taught as a student how to swim by Wayne and eventually coached with her while pursuing her masters.
“She didn’t expect you to do more than what you could do, but she didn’t expect you to do just the minimum either,” Adcock said. “She took no excuses. She had a kind heart, but she had a fierceness about her. I just remember, if boys were doing it, girls can do it too.”
After retiring in 2014, Wayne was still heavily invested in Rabun County athletics until her passing. She attended games – including the RCHS boys basketball state title win in March; volunteered with the teams and at games and joined the Rabun County Athletic Hall of Fame Committee.
While some coaches may know when it’s time to walk away, it’s rare that they lose their competitiveness or drive to continue guiding young people. Coach Wayne was one of those coaches.
“Coach Wayne never got rid of it,” Rabun County High School head softball coach Jessica Evans said of Wayne’s passion for players and coaches. “Even though she retired and wasn’t a coach on paper at the school system or the rec department, she was still pouring into kids and families off the field and then still coming back and pouring into us coaches.”
Evans and Wayne met at a middle school softball game early during the 2025 season while Evans’ youngest daughter, Coral Bay, or “CB,” played for the middle school team. At that game, Wayne shared stories with Evans of her long coaching career in Rabun County.
After Wayne walked away, others in the crowd shared their personal stories of playing for and being taught by Wayne. The stories of former players and students that day and Wayne’s impact stood out to Evans.
During her conversation with Wayne, Evans invited her to a game and asked if she would throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Wayne – the first-ever softball coach for the Lady Cats’ high school team – excitedly accepted and even showed up early and stayed late to address the team.
Wayne is one of three people to throw the first pitch at a RCHS softball game during Evans’ tenure. The other two were Samantha Dixon – who hit the first recorded home run in program history – and Kelli Welch, a former softball coach at RCHS and the late wife of current RCHS athletic director Jonathan Welch.
“You think of most people when they retire, they’re going off to the lake house or to the beach and she’s just still in the community, supporting it,” Evans said. “I took a lot in that day with just her being there.”
Evans told The Clayton Tribune she and the softball team plan to honor Coach Wayne at a game this fall season.
Another way Wayne gave back to the high school’s athletic programs was by volunteering as the stat keeper for the RCHS girls basketball team during home games the last few years. As the Lady Cats needed a stat keeper, RCHS athletic director Welch asked Dillard if she had thought of asking Wayne.
But Wayne was much more to those Lady Cat teams and the program than just a stat keeper. Like Evans said, Wayne never “got rid of” her competitiveness and desire to pour into others.
“Every game, she made a point to get here early enough to come and see me before I went in and talked to the girls, and she would say, ‘I gotta give her a good luck hug,’” Dillard said of what she will miss the most about Wayne. “And she would hug me and say ‘You know, I love you. It’s gonna be a good game.’”
After games, Wayne would give Dillard her feedback on how the program she used to coach and devoted much of her life to, performed that night. Dillard said the Lady Cats will honor Wayne this upcoming season at a home contest.
“I think for me, it’s just, you’re kind of losing it, a little bit of a sport,” Dillard said.
While a part of sports in Rabun County was lost on June 24 when Coach Wayne passed, she impacted the lives of many, and her legacy will live on through others.
Community describes Janice Wayne as their ‘rock’ of consistent encouragement
Janice Wayne served as an inspiration to many people in Rabun County and beyond. Below are two additional accounts of the impact Wayne made on the lives of several --
“I have been friends with Janice Wayne for 51 years. We met as PE majors at North Georgia College and have remained the best of friends. Janice loved her job! She always said it was great to get paid for getting to play (PE)!! She loved the students she taught and the athletes she coached. If athletes needed shoes, Janice bought them. If there were raffle tickets to be sold for school activities, Janice bought them. If there were students that needed a sponsor for a school trip or a mission trip (Dominican Republic), Janice sponsored them. If there were children that needed swimming lessons and parents were having hard times the children got free lessons. Janice Wayne had a servant’s heart. She loved the students she taught and the athletes she coached. She may not have had children of her own but she had thousands. She would say “those are my kids.” Janice loved her family and friends. She wanted everyone to be happy. Rabun County has lost a true treasure.”
Gail Coleman
“Good Morning! By now I am sure you have heard about many facets of Janice Wayne. But have you heard of the part time mother? I will never know how Janice knew I needed a little extra, but she did. I lived in four different homes between the start of my sophomore year in high school and graduation. That meant that the one consistent thing in my life at that time was basketball, i.e. Janice Wayne and Gail Crowe. Janice was my rock. The constant encouragement and understanding was what I needed. She touched base with me almost every day. When I came home to teach, she said, “I knew this was what you were meant to do.” She was so proud that I had pushed myself to meet my goals. As I moved into administrative roles, she was again my cheerleader. My first year as principal at RCMS, I would find myself in the gym when I needed a break. Janice was there like she always had been. We would laugh and joke and sometimes shoot a little basketball. Those quick 5 minute intervals would always rejuvenate me. I hope she knew that. The last time I saw her, she hugged me like we always do. We talked about my grandchildren and her plans for the summer. My part time Mom will always have a special place in my heart.”
Vicki Tyler
Retired RCS educator