Posted on 04/15/2018
William Howard Wight Jr. (Feb 25, 1939 - Mar 29, 2018)
William Howard Wight Jr. passed away Thursday evening March 29, 2018. Howard, as he preferred to be called, suffered a massive stroke the week before as a result of atrial fibrillation. Howard is survived by his son David, daughter Jenni and his pride and joy, grandson Calum.
Howard was born in Baltimore, MD in 1939 to parents Capt. William Howard Wight II and Evelyn Bonsal Wight. He was raised by his Grandmother "Banny" Eleanor Jackson Love Wight, in Cockeysville, a small town outside Baltimore. Howard fondly recalled stories about Sunday drives to visit family and fishing with his dad and cousins.
After attending McDonogh School Howard was offered a scholarship to Yale, however, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy to honor his father's wish for him to serve his country. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1961 and served in the Navy Supply Corps. Because of his strong belief of service to our country, Howard joined the Seabees and volunteered for a tour of duty in Vietnam.
Howard was an agent with Northwestern Mutual from 1973-1990. He created and published the Wight Financial Concepts Newsletter, popular among many of the top insurance and financial advisors in the country. Howard used his business acumen to become a dynamic, popular public speaker in the Insurance industry, speaking at over 50 seminars a year on topics including selling, motivation, success and time management. His oratory skills got him invited as a speaker at the Million Dollar Round Table several times and International Forum twice. Howard was honored and humbled when asked to be a keynote speaker at the MDRT. Howard went on to author 7 books including Success and Time Management, Red-Letter Language, Life Insurance in a nutshell, Ten Keys and his children's favorite book, Life's Lessons, which is dedicated to them.
In addition to establishing himself as a force within the Insurance industry, Howard was a voracious reader and avid sports fan. More importantly, Howard was a great father. He was extremely supportive and an attentive listener to his children while imparting many of life's lessons along the way. Howard was a good friend to those who knew him and a mentor to many in the insurance industry. His loyalty to his Country, family and friends was unwavering. Howard firmly believed if you do something you love, you never have to work a day in your life; that belief was manifested many times in his passion for speaking and helping others become better.
The family will have a small private ceremony, however if anyone wants to make donations, please do so to the American Heart Association. No one's heart was big as our father's, even once hired a man, who was on the verge of being evicted from his Jones St. Apartment in San Francisco, who our father had befriended over the years, just so he could stay in his apartment with his two kids.
Dad, Grandpa, you will be missed. We love you, David, Jenni and Calum
Published in San Francisco Chronicle on Apr. 15, 2018