Wayne G. Deahl is a Torrington and Wyoming native, and has lived his entire life in the state. His great-grandfather homesteaded north of Torrington, and the family ranch included the local landmark, Teakettle Rock. Deahl’s first career was broadcasting, beginning as a sophomore in high school at KGOS. He also worked at the former KOJO/KIOZ in Laramie, was briefly the weatherman at KTWO, and hosted Morning Edition on KUWR while a student. He held jobs from disk jockey, to program director, to general manager.
Deahl is a graduate of Eastern Wyoming College and the University of Wyoming, eventually earning an MA in English Literature. While at UW, he taught English as a TA and part-time lecturer. Deahl then taught English, speech, and theatre at Campbell County High School, before spending the last twenty-two years of his educational career at Eastern Wyoming College. There, he taught English, theatre, communication, and philosophy and spent many years as Division Chair of Arts, Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences. He was an early adopter of distance learning methods, and taught both on-line and via compressed video. Deahl chaired or served on numerous committees and received an Outstanding Teacher award from the extension campus in Douglas. He was honored by inclusion in Who’s Who and named an Outstanding Philosopher of the World by Cambridge Press.
Deahl firmly believes in giving back to his communities, which has led him to membership in Jaycees and other service organizations, and to much volunteer work. That work has included coaching youth sports, refereeing football and basketball, volunteering at local schools for events ranging from Dr. Suess reading day to wild-game tasting, and judging various speaking events. He has lent his expertise to many local organizations and groups, which included acting the part of prosecutor Walter Stoll in the PBS recreation of the Trial of Horn.
Deahl has previously served on and chaired the Board of the Wyoming Humanities Council and the Wyoming Community Development Authority, Wyoming’s housing finance agency, and the State Parks and Cultural Resources Commission. He lives in Torrington and his late wife Catherine was the counselor at TMS. They have two children; step-son Mike Bostick, a math professor at Central Wyoming College who lives in Lander with his wife Meghan and two granddaughters, and daughter Jessica who is senior designer for Ptarmak in Austin, Texas. Deahl enjoys outdoor activities, fishing, literary endeavors, and home improvement projects.
He is most honored to have been elected to the Torrington City Council and appreciative of the opportunity to do local volunteer work.