Wayne J. Ferreira, 74

Wayne J. Ferreira was born in New Bedford on July 15, 1951, to the late Joseph and Roberta (Reynolds) Ferreira. The family moved to Rochester in the 1960s, and their home remained Wayne's home base for the rest of his life. He graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School in 1970. He resided permanently in Rochester from 1997 until his death.

Wayne died on May 31, 2026, at age 74, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The cause was cholangiosarcoma, an aggressive bile duct cancer that rapidly overtook his liver; he died approximately two weeks after diagnosis.

Wayne was drawn to music at a young age, spending many happy afternoons after school at his uncle's house listening to his record collection. He started his first band at age 14 and played locally throughout his high school years and beyond. He studied drums with Jackie Santos at Berklee College of Music. Beginning in the early 1970s he played with several different bands throughout the east coast, from Canada, Pennsylvania and Northern New England to Key West and the Bahamas, including at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1980. Returning to the South Coast permanently in the 1980s, he played with many local and regional bands for the next 40 years. He recorded with Marianne Faithfull in New York in 1991, and later with local and regional artists, including John Burroughs, Bradley Winfield Parker, and Butch McCarthy. In 1995 he was with the Robin Wright Band when they won the Boston Music Awards in the Country category.

In 2025, Wayne was among the first class of musicians inducted into the Old Rochester Regional High School Music Hall of Fame.

In the 1980s Wayne began a house painting business and became known for the quality of his work, especially interior work where his attention to detail was always noticed and appreciated. He also restored vintage drums and antique furniture. According to some musician friends, he was the "go-to guy" for hard-to-find vintage drum parts

In 2014, Wayne had a double lung transplant after suffering for several years with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. A benefit ("Waynestock") was held in 2013 to assist him with the financial requirements that allowed him to be accepted onto the transplant list. Many local musicians gave their time and talent performing over the course of six hours, and many other friends worked tirelessly for several months to make this a success. He was extremely grateful for that help, for the many other ways friends and the community supported him both before and after the transplant, and throughout his long recovery. Thanks to the many years of constant support from his medical teams, he was able to return to playing drums and continued to do so until recently. Those who helped him get through that difficult time will be glad to know that the lungs he received never failed for the rest of his life.

Wayne cared deeply about animals. Upon discovering a feral cat community on his property in 2003, he and his then partner spent seven years rescuing feral kittens and cats until the last two were rescued in 2010. He was "cat dad" to many of them for their remaining years. He loved to cook and posted many of his delicious-looking dinners on Facebook. He had a lifelong passion for antique cars.

Wayne is survived by a brother, Stephen Ferreira, and his family, of Tennessee; close friend and former partner, Kim Randall of Mattapoisett and her family; cousin Brenda Solomon of New Bedford and her family; aunt Angie Barros of New Bedford; cousin Joseph Barros of Rochester; and many other cousins and friends.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, August 25, at 9AM at Sarah Sherman Cemetery in Rochester. Friends and family are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations in Wayne's name may be made to Brigham and Women's Hospital, Fairhaven Animal Shelter, or Friends of Old Rochester Music. Arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett.