The funeral Mass for Deacon John B. Wainscott was celebrated Nov. 3 at St. Justin Martyr Church in Sunset Hills. He was 76 and had been a deacon for 10 years.
Born on June 23, 1941, in Columbia, S.C., Deacon Wainscott served in the United States Navy for more than 20 years and served the youth in the St. Louis area as a district director in the Boy Scouts of America for more than 10 years. He most recently was the director of the Il Ritiro Retreat Center in Dittmer.
He was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on June 2, 2007, by then-Archbishop Raymond Burke. He served at St. Justin Martyr Parish, Annunziata Parish in Ladue, and then St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Sunset Hills until his retirement on April 9, 2012.
Before retirement, he performed the sacramental functions of a deacon, specifically assisting at Mass, conducting wake services and attending funerals, leading Liturgy of the Word and Communion Services, performing baptisms, conducting benedictions and leading Stations of the Cross. Deacon Wainscott also worked extensively with youth groups (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.), PSR programs, St. Vincent DePaul societies, the Catholic Committee on Scouting, Knights of Columbus and the Serra Club of St. Louis.
Deacon Wainscott is survived by his wife, Mary; two children: Tonya (Steve) Stafford and Johna (Chris) Bequette; grandchildren and great grandchildren.