BOMBER MEMORIAL
REVEREND JOHN WILLIAM WINGFIELD ~ Class of 1966
April 8, 1948 - December 7, 2023
Reverend John William Wingfield, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, Unity minister and friend, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on December 7, 2023. He was born on April 8, 1948 to Royce and Jean Wingfield in Richland. He is survived by his wife, Jane; his three children: Jeremy, Lianna (Billy) and Connor (Odelia); his three grandchildren: Finn, Lilah and Lev; and his brother, Jim ('71) (Sandy).
As a child, John rode horses on the family’s 5-acre farm in West Richland. He attended Sacajawea Grade School, Chief Jo Junior High and graduated with the Class of 1966 from Richland's Columbia High School where he was on the football team. He attended Central United Methodist Church and was an active Boy Scout. He often traveled to Indiana with his parents and brother to visit family. In 1966 John moved to Tacoma, WA to attend the University of Puget Sound. He joined the Sigma Nu fraternity and the Air Force ROTC, learned pottery and spent a summer fishing for salmon on the New Oregon in Bristol Bay, AK. When he graduated in 1970 with a BA in History, he had long red hair and a bushy beard. After graduation, John learned to meditate and explore eastern spirituality through the Fellowship for Spiritual Understanding. He declared himself a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war and successfully defended his religious and moral feelings on non-violence to the draft board.
John’s first job out of college was to manage a group home for children with special needs. That is the same year, 1971, he met and won the heart of his wife, Jane, by inviting her to accompany him and the children he worked with to Disneyland. A year later, John and Jane were married at 7 am on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1972 in Olympia, WA. In 1974 they moved to Tokyo, Japan where John taught English and American culture. While in Japan, John’s passion to serve others re-emerged so in 1975 they moved from Tokyo to Lee Summit, MO where he enrolled in Unity School of Christianity. After completing his studies John was ordained a Unity Minister in 1977, and the family moved to San Luis Obispo, CA. In 1983 they moved back to Olympia, WA where they have lived for 40 years.
He served as minister of the Unity Church of San Luis Obispo from 1977 to 1983, the Unity Church of Olympia from 1983 to 1986, and in 1987 he founded Tree of Life Unity in Lakewood, WA where he served until 1992. John later served with Unity churches in Yakima, Port Angeles and Centralia, WA, Beaverton, OR, Las Vegas, NV, St. Louis, MO, Livonia, MI, Naples, FL, Atlanta, GA, Honolulu, HI and Maidenhead, UK. John performed numerous baptisms, weddings, funerals and memorials, helping countless friends and church goers through celebration and joy as well as loss, pain and grief. Through his work, John was able to connect with so many different individuals, nurture friendships and learn from others from all walks of life and from all over the world. He was both a teacher and a student of kindness and peace.
John and Jane were married for 51 years. In that time, John ran the Olympia Marathon twice and the Seattle Marathon once. He climbed to the summit of Mt. Rainier three times, once performing a wedding at the peak. He coached his son’s baseball team of 10 year olds and cheered his children at all their soccer games. John was always in his children’s lives as children and remained so later in life, visiting them in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Beijing and Lisbon. John took the family to England in 1998 to see Wingfield ancestral sites, explore and visit neolithic monoliths. At the age of 61, he bought a sailboat and learned to sail from Olympia to the San Juan Islands just so he could take his friends and family out to enjoy the sunny days of Salish summers. A few years later, he and four friends formed the Ray Band and played 60's and 70's rock and roll every Thursday night in John’s living room where he sang his heart out while playing guitar and flute.
He was an ambassador of love and kindness. He was a passionate storyteller and captive listener. He would never miss the chance to ask deeper questions and hear what others had to share. He was a lover of music, sailing, history and spirituality. He was caring, patient and kind with everyone who crossed his path. John’s message in life was to love, show compassion and be kind. He was loved deeply by his family, and he will be dearly missed.
A memorial service will take place on at 2:00 pm on Thursday, December 28, 2023 at the Abigail Stuart House in downtown Olympia. To honor his memory, we encourage you to be kind and generous to another in need; and to remember, as he used to remind us, “It’s good to be alive!”
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Bomber Memorial put together by Shirley COLLINGS Haskins ('66).