Richard Lee Wight

Richard Lee (Dick) Wight, 79, of Fredericksburg Virginia, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 4, 2014 at Mary Washington Hospital after waging a 30 year battle with spinal cord disease. He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Gayle Lee Wight and Evelyn B. Wight. He was raised in Nebraska, in Iowa, and in Rock Island, Illinois. Subsequent to graduating from the University of Illinois, he served in the U.S. Army and then worked as a professional engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until his retirement. While stationed at Fort Belvoir, he met his wife, Jean, who was a nursing student at Alexandria Hospital. They raised their six children in Woodbridge, VA where Dick was actively involved in community, school, and church activities for more than 30 years. He and Jean retired to the Charlottesville, Virginia area in 1992 where they lived until 2008. He was a true Renaissance man and delighted in sharing that he peaked in 1936 when he was crowned the Grand Champion Healthy Baby Boy at the Nebraska State Fair. Throughout his life he demonstrated the true meaning of courage, strength, and humor which is the legacy he passed on to anyone who knew him. He is survived by his wife of 55 years Jean (Ann) Wight as well as their six children, Laurie Louise Roche of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Richard Gayle Wight (Bob Mardesich) of Los Angeles California, Elizabeth "Lisa" Tatum (Eric) of Lake Ridge, Virginia, John Michael Wight (Patrick Defreitas) of Atlanta, Georgia, Patricia Jean Schott (Wallace) of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Rebekah Lee Schlatter (Joseph) of Nokesville Virginia. He is also survived by his seven grandchildren, Kyle Tatum, Kevin Tatum, Sara Schott, Augustus Schott, Margaret Roche, Joseph Schlatter, IV, and Jackson Schlatter, as well as sister Janet S. Lester of Watauga, Texas, sister Evelyn E. Morrissey of Vernon, Texas, Mother-in law Helen L. Hoover of Painesville, Ohio, brother-in-law Martin J. Hoover of Painesville, Ohio, sister-in-law M. Christine Steiner of Fairfax, VA, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Gayle Lee and Evelyn B. Wight, his younger brother Stephen Farris Wight, father-in-law John L. Hoover Sr. and brother-in-law John L. Hoover Jr. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 10:00 am, Friday, September 12, 2014, at St. Jude Catholic Church, 10725 Courthouse Road, Fredericksburg. Interment will follow the service at Quantico National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of donations in his name to the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia and their Ministries, 9535 Linton Hall Road, Bristow, VA, 20136. Online condolences may be expressed to Dick’s family at foundandsons.com.

Richard Lee Wight

December 24, 1934 - September 4, 2014