Jesse Neal Wait, 47, died of an apparent heart attack on March 6 at his home of Dallas.
Wait was born March 4, 1972, Patricia Ann VanGorkum Wait May and Ralph Leon Wait. He grew up in Springfield, Colo., graduation from Soringfield Junior High in 1986. He then moved with his mother to Amarillo, where instead of going to high school he chose to go to work as a floral designer at The Flower Gallery. He also made custom house numbers and signs from reclaimed wood. He also began working at Maggie’s Disco, an LGBT bar in Amarillo, eventually becoming manager of the club.
When he decided to go back to school, Wait got the deal of Amarillo College to agree that he could attend the college without finishing high school if he could pass the college entrance exams. When he aced the exams, he was awarded his certificate of high school equivalency, then went on to earn Amarillo College Honors Convocation recognition and the Academic Excellence Award for maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. He also attended West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, where he studied information technology.
After moving to Dallas about 19 years ago, Wait became manager of the Studio Bar on Cedar Springs Road before moving into a career in banking. He worked for Chase Bank, then Frost Bank before going to work at North Dallas Bank and Trust Co. until he was forced to retire due to health reasons.
Wait’s partner, Al Daniels, said Wait was “a kind-hearted and generous man [and] the love of my life.” March 9 would have been their third anniversary as a couple, although they had been close friends since 2005. Wait was known as a fashionable person and a loving man. He adored his dog Roxi. Wait had held an event to raise funds for the Dalmation Rescue of North Texas on his 47th birthday, and after his death, the DRNT placed Roxi with a family in Houston.
Wait was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia VanGorkum Wait. He is survived by his partner of three years, Al Daniels of Dallas; his brothers, Eddie Wait of Phoenix, Ariz., and Dale Wait of Tempe, Ariz.; his close friends, Lee Dickerson of Garland and Jerry Nicholson of Plano.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, March 30, at 1:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Hope Interfaith Peace Chapel, 5910 Cedar Springs Road. Wait’s ashes will be interred in a niche in the Cathedral of Hope Columbarium.
