Nearing 100, Deltaville’s John Wake has led a full life

by Jane Park Cutler –

The roots of the Wake family run deep in Deltaville. John Byron Wake is the seventh generation of the family living there, starting with the first John Wake in 1726.

John Byron Wake was born in 1924 on the site where his current house on the Piankatank River is built. His grandfather, William Henry Wake, had purchased Providence House along with 90 acres from the Vaughn family in 1910.

Like other men of his generation, Wake joined the U.S. Navy during World War II, serving aboard the LST737, a tank landing ship assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Traveling to Hawaii, Guam and Okinawa “opened the world” to John. After his military service, Wake was on the Virginia State Police force for six years.

After leaving the police force, Wake went to the University of Richmond for a year. During this time he bought his first car from a Mr. Copley. Learning that Wake was from Deltaville, Copley invited him to visit his summer home on Stove Point. That was a fateful visit when Wake met 20-year-old Carolyn Copley, who would soon graduate from James Madison College with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Married in December 1952, the newlyweds agreed to run a failing motel that Copley owned in Savannah, Ga. Over the next two years, they turned the motel into a prospering business.

The young couple moved back to Virginia in 1955. With their $7,000 in savings, they opened a 1,800-square-foot “Tom Brown Hardware Store.” Over the years, the Wake’s built four hardware stores in Richmond, the last occupying 20,000 square feet!
During this time the Wakes also grew their family to include four sons — John, James, William and Robert.

Over the years John and Carolyn each served on many boards serving the community, including the local library, church, James Madison University, the Economic Development Board, River Counties Community Foundation and more.

Looking back on his long life, John is proud to say, “I never worked a day I didn’t enjoy.” Watching the emergence of computers, the digital age and other technology, he is optimistic about the future, hoping that humankind can learn to live together with respect for one another. Carolyn has concerns about the decline in volunteer community service and the racism that still haunts America. She wants everyone to have the opportunity for upward mobility, affordable housing and to care for one another.

(Dr. Jane Cutler is a retired social worker living in Deltaville with her husband, Dr. Gordon Cutler. Like the Wakes, she is an advocate for disadvantaged and underserved people in need. She was recently welcomed to the River Counties Community Foundation Advisory Board. To suggest a Middlesex County resident for the Southside Sentinel to profile as part of its Know Your Neighbor series, email Editor Don Richeson at Editor@SSentinel.com.)