John Walter Wyatt

RALEIGH – John was born on February 26, 1949, in the Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. At his death on February 17, 2022, he was only a few days away from his 73rd birthday. He was the firstborn child of his dearly beloved parents, (USMC Major) John Burnett Wyatt and Barbara Anne (Hoeppner) Wyatt. Because his father was a career Marine officer, John grew up on military bases in Virginia, North Carolina, and California. His father was also a champion golfer for the Marine Corps Golf Team, so John loved to caddy for his dad and learned the game at a young age. He became such a good golfer himself that he even considered going pro. His other love was music and singing – he had a wonderful bass voice and played guitar beautifully – and he was especially proud of having been selected to attend high school music camps, where he learned to direct choirs, a skill he often used later in life as a worship leader. As a young teenager, John committed his life to God, and his faith was the cornerstone of his life. His primary motivation in life was to know God and to serve Him well. At the end of his life, John was satisfied that he had found God’s Truth, and that he had done his best to be faithful to that Truth. It is a joy to entrust his soul to the Great and Merciful Creator God Who has consistently shown great love for His faithful servant, John Wyatt. John came of age during the late 1960’s – a time of great upheaval in America, when the most common slogan was “DOWN WITH (fill in the blank)”, the Viet Nam war was causing division, and racial tensions were sky high. So, after graduating from Vista High School (Vista, California) in 1967, he briefly attended Palomar Junior College, but when he saw that he might be able to at least mitigate some of our nation’s troubles by joining the Up With People! organization, he applied, was accepted, and began traveling with an integrated and international cast of about 150 young people. Their goal was to use music and personal contact to inspire other young people and community leaders to find positive ways in which to serve, unite, and uplift their fellow citizens and their communities. The cast traveled all over the States and to many other countries to present their message, which was enthusiastically received everywhere they went. In fact, young people who couldn’t join a traveling cast began to create their own local groups that could carry the message to their neighbors. Since John was impressive even as a young man, he was soon approached by the UWP leadership to be a mentor to these “Local Sing Outs”, as they were called. John gladly accepted the challenge, and, at the age of 19 years, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, blonde, blue-eyed John and his wonderful African American friend, J.Q. Adams, began mentoring integrated Local Sing Outs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. They persevered despite death threats, numerous experiences of discrimination, and the more mundane challenges of simply finding the funds and means to travel and live. John loved every moment of it and always spoke of it as being a life-changing experience. It was during this time that he met and became engaged to a lovely young lady named Peggy June McKinney. But these were the days of the Viet Nam War. John received his draft notice and proudly enlisted in the US Navy. He and Peggy married in August of 1969. They had two beautiful children together: Leonard Burnett Wyatt and April Elizabeth Wyatt. Sadly, that first marriage ended in divorce. John remarried to Susan Dorothy Egan, an old friend from his Up With People! days. They shared 43 immensely happy years together and had two wonderful sons together: John Wesley Wyatt and Matthew Joseph Wyatt. In the mid 1980’s John returned to college (Kansas Technical Institute, now Kansas State Polytechnic) and earned a degree as a computer tech. That eventually led him to his favorite job, working at Yardi Systems (Santa Barbara, CA and Raleigh, NC). He cherished the many friendships that developed during his years at Yardi. John’s life was filled with adventure. He lived overseas several times in Spain, Jordan and Israel, and visited many other countries. While still in Navy boot camp, he was given the high honor of being selected for the Blue Jacket Choir. He served the United States of America as one of the Navy’s top-rated Arabic linguists and received a presidential award for having intercepted a radio transmission that was intended to lead to an attack on the President. He traveled the world, meeting people whose names you would recognize. He performed in Carnegie Hall and for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco. He was blessed by the Pope in Rome. He went on a safari. He played golf on several continents – even in the Saudi desert using fake grass on oiled sand! He inspired and trained young people all over the southern United States. He trained and led worship groups. He experienced and contributed much more than we can mention here. John is buried in the Veterans’ section of Historic Oakwood Cemetery (Raleigh, NC) because he was a proud Navy man who served his country well for 13 years and would have liked to serve longer. He was also the son of a Marine Corps officer, of whom he was tremendously proud. We hope it brings John pleasure to know that his body’s final resting place is among people of like mind, and we are grateful to the fine men of the United States Navy who served as an honor guard at his burial. John is pre-deceased by his father and mother. He is survived by his wife Sue, of Raleigh, and his children: Leonard Burnett Wyatt (Tricia), of Wake Forest; his daughter April Elizabeth Wyatt of Antioch, TN; John Wesley Wyatt and Matthew Joseph Wyatt, both of Raleigh; and grandchildren: Kylie Nicole Wyatt of Wake Forest, and adopted grandchildren Kassondra “Kassi” Wyatt of San Tan Valley, AZ and Zachary “Zack” Wyatt of Amarillo, TX, Chance Lane Haughey of Lubbock, TX, Bryson Colt Sparks Wyatt of Antioch, TN, as well as 5 great grandchildren. Also surviving are his beloved sisters, Virginia “Ginnie” Mathews of Reno, NV, and Mary Lou Tiner (Tim) of Greeley, CO, as well as many much-loved nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. We, his family and friends, have so many wonderful memories of John and our time with him. May those memories bring each of us comfort and encouragement. Thank you for your part in honoring this great and good man. In lieu of flowers, should you wish to honor John in a more tangible manner, the family has created a Go Fund Me page (“John Wyatt Memorial Park Bench”) to accept donations that will be used to purchase a park bench with a plaque honoring John. The bench will be placed in a greenway or a local park (site yet to be determined). The link: https://gofund.me/30aa66d1 Funeral arrangements are by Bryan-Lee Funeral Home of Raleigh. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.bryan-leefuneralhome.com