Once again we are forced to say “farewell” to a great friend – and he was not just a friend to us, but the entire trucking industry. Wayne Schooling, who contributed the “Wayne’s World” column since August of 1994, passed away at home from a heart attack on July 23, 2025, at the age of 79. Although Wayne had a history of heart problems, his untimely death was not expected. More than just a contributor to 10-4 Magazine, Wayne wore many hats over his lifetime including artist, driver, manager, lecturer and philanthropist. Having never missed an issue in over 31 years, Wayne’s monthly column consistently brought our readers useful information and advice.
Born in 1945 and raised in Kansas City, MO, Wayne graduated from high school a year early and got a job drawing for Hallmark Greeting Cards. Since he was only 16 years old at the time, he had to lie about his age to get the job. Not long after that, his family moved to Southern California, and Wayne went with them. He went on to have a few odd jobs, like being a “robber” and a stuntman at Knott’s Berry Farm, a popular amusement park in Buena Park, CA. One of his jobs there was to board a train, filled with park visitors, dressed like a bandit, and rob them! Wayne loved this job.
Moving on to several other places of employment, Wayne eventually landed a driving job at Pacific Intermountain Express (PIE) in the 60s, which at the time was the largest trucking company in the world. His starting pay was $3.25 per hour, and that was really good back then (minimum wage was $1.25 per hour). He worked his way through many areas in that company, from driver to terminal manager, and thought for sure that was where he would retire from. Unfortunately, after struggling for years, PIE filed for bankruptcy in 1990 and closed their doors, which sent Wayne packing.
From there Wayne went to California Cartage, a container terminal located in Long Beach, CA, where he was the Safety Director. This is where we met Wayne, as California Cartage was one of the first places to offer 10-4 Magazine for pickup when we started in 1993. Wayne always believed that “knowledge is power” and was an advocate for owner operators. This passion led him to become a part of the Southern California Owner Operator Consortium (SCOOC), started in 1989 by our friend Nancy Hazzard, who also contributed a few articles to the magazine back in 1995.
When the FMCSA first came out with a drug testing program, Wayne and someone from the motion picture industry were invited to join the class held in California, to learn about this new (at the time) program, and they were the only non-government people in attendance. These “consortiums” were started to help owner operators manage their expenses and be able to participate in the newly established drug and alcohol rules. By grouping a large number owner operators together, they were able to establish random drug and alcohol testing pools and also get discounts on various trucking services.
After taking over SCOOC and running it for a while, Wayne renamed it NorthAmerican Transportation Association (NTA) in 1999. When rebranding the company as North American Transportation Association, he realized the acronym would be NATA, which closely resembled the Spanish word “nada” (which means nothing), so he opted instead to make “NorthAmerican” just one word, making the three-letter acronym NTA. He then worked tirelessly over the next 25 years to offer more services to his members. Wayne was an expert at building bridges and putting networks of people together!
Up until his death, he continued to be one of the largest supporters of our Truckin’ For Kids (TFK) charity show, as well as a longtime advertiser in 10-4 Magazine. When we first told Wayne we were going to acquire the TFK show, he committed to being our largest sponsor before the deal was even finalized – and that is exactly what he did. He even donated a vintage golf cart (circa 1965) and trailer to our 10-4 Charities organization. This cool old golf cart is currently in the process of being fixed and customized. Wayne had a soft spot for charities and also cut checks every month to Disabled American Veterans and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
As an avid historian, Wayne enjoyed collecting unique pieces of “art” that some wouldn’t really take notice of, such as first edition books of famous people. One example would be a book he owns about Jesse James, a first edition, written by the sheriff who shot him. He also collected old coins and antique firearms, which he had a real passion for. However, you could almost hear the smile on his face when he talked about his most beloved collectible – a 1963 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III, that is one of only thirteen still in existence according to the Rolls Royce worldwide directory.
Not one to mention his personal life much, we know that Wayne left behind a son named Douglas (54), and he also had an older daughter named Kelly, that recently died in 2023. He also leaves behind his longtime girlfriend Francis – they were together “forever” but never married, and we only met her one time in the 30+ years we knew Wayne! Thank you, Wayne, for your valuable contributions over the past three decades to 10-4 Magazine and for your willingness to share your wisdom with everyone in the trucking industry. You will be greatly missed but never forgotten.