New Kensington native Wayne Pedzwater was a renowned bass player who toured with music icons and became a staple of the New York session scene for 25 years, but he didn't wear his accomplishments like a badge. "He always asked about other people and wanted to find out about what you were doing," said second cousin Devin Pedzwater. "He never mentioned about what he was doing. It would almost embarrass him when someone would say something like that." Wayne Pedzwater, 48, succumbed to stomach cancer on March 18 in his New York home. He graduated from Valley High School in 1974. He attended Berklee College of Music when, at 19, jazz drummer Buddy Rich asked him to play for the Buddy Rich Orchestra, with whom he later appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. Eventually, he decided to take his music in another direction when Blood, Sweat & Tears asked him to come on tour, said his wife Patty Forbes-Pedzwater. He recorded with such artists as John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the "Milk & Honey" album, Jeff Beck and Robert Plant as one of the Honey Drippers, the Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson. He also performed with Paul Simon, Bette Midler, Garth Brooks, Placido Domingo, Paul Shaffer, Carole King and Jewel, among others and made numerous television appearances. Wayne was doing sessions when he met Patty, who, at the time was the sales and marketing director for a commercial jingle company. He asked her out to lunch "and we were together ever since." "We had a great friendship and love affair, and we cherished it," Patty Pedzwater said. "We had an amazing 12 years. I can't believe it went so fast." "I know a handful of people like this, and he's one of them: when they walk into a room you feel it," Devin Pedzwater said. "He had that charisma and attraction. He could charm anybody. He loved to talk to people and loved to find out every detail about people he met." Devin Pedzwater recalled at his wedding, Wayne was seated at a table with strangers, but by the end of the night, they were exchanging phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Word about Wayne Pedzwater's cancer eventually got around the music community and, on Nov. 22, a benefit concert was held at the Cutting Room club in New York City called "Pedzwaterpalooza" to help the couple with hospital costs. Among the musicians there, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra attended to present a David Letterman-esque "Top 10" list for Wayne. "It was a remarkable night," Patty Pedzwater said. "The amount of affection and support that people showed. I was so proud to be his wife. "It was like being at your own memorial service, when you hear what people say about the person gone and think, 'They would have loved this.' "We had hit a financial, emotional and spiritual low, and we were so lifted by this," Patty Pedzwater said. First cousin Rick Pedzwater said the way the couple handled the illness was "inspirational." "He and his wife dealt with the whole thing with such grace and dignity," Rick Pedzwater said. An avid cyclist averaging 10,000 miles a season, he was health-conscious without a family history of cancer. "He didn't whine and complain and say, 'Why me?'" Patty Pedzwater said. In fact, if someone asked him if he felt sorry for himself, "he would say, 'Why not me• Millions of people a day are diagnosed with cancer,'" she said. "We all looked up to him, not because of his accomplishments but because of the kind of person he was," Rick Pedzwater said. "He had strong convictions. He not only had them, but he acted on them. "I think all of us have good intentions with family and important things, but he did them." "Throughout his life in New York and his travels, he never forgot his roots in New Ken," Rick Pedzwater said. "I don't know how he got the time. Family was extremely important to him." Wayne Pedzwater performed at former President Bill Clinton's first inauguration and made numerous television appearances and worked on commercial and cinematic scores. Additional Information:

Editor's note

The Valley News Dispatch will occasionally run obituary stories on notable local residents. They are news items and as such, no charge is applied. The subjects of these stories are solely the discretion of the editors.

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