John Latta Wighton, about 55 years old in about 1970

John's Early Childhood

We know from father Harry's bio that John was part of the Wighton contingent that set sail for Scotland August 18, 1915 from Montreal. John was less than a month old. They landed on August 29, 1915 in Glasgow and took up residence at Woodbank, Barlinnie, Glasgow. They would soon move to 11 Garnet Terrace, in the Glasgow district of Mount Florida. His older sibling, Amy Ella, would have been two to three years old. (Born Oct 7, 1913.)

As you've read, the Wightons left Scotland and arrived in Vancouver, October 18, 2018. John would have been three years old. Their home in Vancouver was at 1374 Laurier Avenue, just north of King Edward and east of Granville.

Formal Education

John's elementary school was most likely Shaughnessy Elementary, built in 1911, and only half a mile away from the home on Laurier.

When it became time for John to attend high school, he did so as a citizen of South Vancouver, an area distinct from Vancouver at that time. (Point Gray and South Vancouver merged with Vancouver in 1929). The high school serving South Vancouver was South Vancouver High School which became John Oliver High School (530 E. 41st) in the 20s. That school was three miles away from their home on Laurier Avenue, a relatively easy bike ride.

Above is a picture of John's graduating class. The picture is undated, however I was able to determine that John was a member of the graduating class of 1930 from a John Oliver Alumni membership list. Since John was born in 1915, this means that he graduated from high school at the age of 15. John is in the second row, third from the right.

After high school, John entered the Bachelor of Arts program at UBC, from which he graduated in 1935 with honours in Mathematics. By this time, Harry and Miriam had moved to their permanent home on West 8th, a comfortable walk to UBC. Here's John's UBC graduation picture.

John's Professional Career

My sisters and I knew our uncle as a UBC mechanical engineering professor. However, John's first career choice was to be a school teacher. After graduating from UBC, he worked as a math teacher in several rural BC Communities. [Source #3.]. This explains why John's university degree was a Bachelor of Arts with a major in mathematics and not a Bachelor of Science degree. I remember hearing vaguely that he had worked as a school principal, but that might have been a teaching/administrator position of a small school. I also heard that he had to give up teaching because he had problems with his voice. John was a quiet man and it's entirely possible that he couldn't spend all day talking.

John left teaching to study mechanical engineering at UBC in the mid 1940s. After getting his degree in May 1944, [Source: Internet search] he worked in industry, mining and smelting, heating and ventilating, before getting his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan on June 14, 1952. [Source #3.] During that time, John received a fellowship from Shell amounting to $1,500 US plus tuition and fees. [Internet search.]

On returning to Vancouver, John began work for UBC as Head of their Mechanical Engineering Labs. Later, he took up the same job at the University of Regina. John's expertise with mechanical engineering labs brought him invitations from foreign countries to set up and operate those labs in their universities. [Source #3.] He retired from the University of Regina in 1982. [Source #3] John's dedication to the concept of using and improving teaching laboratories will come up again in this biography.

John's Other Interests

I mentioned in Miriam's biography that John had taken care of Miriam's concern that she would die in penury. John didn't live and breathe mechanical engineering. He did have another interest and he was very good at it. I remind you that John graduated from school two years before he was supposed to. I also remind you that he graduated from university with a math major. That other world? Investing and he was such a wizard at it that the investment firm that he used asked him if he would like to work for them.

John took Miriam's money and invested it. Miriam didn't have to worry about finances any longer. When Miriam died, he took her investments and re-invested them in a joint account for Ella, Jim, and himself.

John also had his own investments from his teaching. As a single man living just outside of the university grounds, he had very few expenses. He had no car and, I believe, he didn't know to drive. He walked to work every day. He had no children or wife to support. He was a frugal man. Have I mentioned that John was a wizard at investing?

Back then, before the internet, investing was restricted to people who had wealth and who gave that wealth to brokerage houses to invest as they thought was wise. Information about specific stocks and bonds was limited. There were no index funds and no exchange traded funds. In Canada, investors were limited to investing in Canada (which had limited offerings) and the United States. There was no broad interest in investing in international markets, which meant that if you did want to invest internationally, you would find it very difficult to do so. John decided to invest in Japanese stocks because Japan was on the verge of becoming a very wealthy nation.

Japan experienced record economic growth between the post-World War II era to the end of the Cold War. During the economic boom, Japan rapidly became the world's second largest economy (after the United States). One of the reasons for this growth was Japan's decision to develop technology/miniaturization. They also made consumer goods. Think Sony, Hitachi, Matsushita (Panasonic), and Nintendo.

Somehow, John was able to research Japanese stocks and select the ones he wanted. His brokerage firm found a way to buy and sell the Japanese stocks that he wanted - I heard that they used a firm in San Francisco. This meant that John got in on the ground floor. As Japan's consumer technology companies became dominant globally, their stocks became investible in the US. But, John got in on the ground floor. In time, every stock that John owned, whether in his personal portfolio or in his family portfolio, was Japanese.

Japan's stock market and economic growth came to an abrupt end in 1990. By 1987, John had stopped investing in Japan and was investing in an entirely different manner.

SFU's Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award went to the 'Idea Man, John Latta Wighton

SFU gave this award to John L. Wighton in March, 1991. "I have always been an idea man," Wighton said. "Retirement hasn't stopped the ideas. I didn't want to drop out of the academic world entirely when I retired. I became involved with Simon Fraser because of the welcoming and supportive attitude when I presented my suggestions. I thought it would become an interesting connection. I hope the ideas I brought to Simon Fraser will make a difference, ultimately, for students and society." [Source 3]

So..... what had John been doing with his investments in the interim after he retired? The new focus of John's investment interest was in philanthropic endowments. 'Philanthropic' because John gave his money away. 'Endowments' were the form that he used.

In his endowments, John provided a large quantity of his stocks to a charitable organization. That organization would set up an internal body that would manage the endowment's growth. That would mean selling and buying new stocks when their portfolio manager deemed it necessary. The organization would be responsible for paying taxes on whatever profits the charitable endowment made after expenses and in determining what taxes might be necessary.

John's large initial deposit of stocks was intended to serve as a financial base that would allow the organization to pay out proceeds annually to those who were selected to receive a one time award. With proper management, the organization would be able to make awards for a long time. John set up several endowments, each with a different target audience. In the sections that follow, I have used information from the organizations' websites to describe John's endowments.

The Wighton Development Fund

(As per the fund's web site.) Established by John Wighton in 1989, this fund is designed to help SFU undergraduate students fund and develop personal projects with a preference to those benefiting society. Proposals for funding are submitted for panel review and successful proposals are granted a fixed budget according to submitted budgetary information, and subject to negotiation.

Dr. J. L. Wighton Professor of Laboratory Studies Fellowship

(As per the fund's web site.) The purpose of the Wighton Fellowship is to recognize and honour persons who have contributed in an innovative, distinctive, and exceptional way, to the instruction of undergraduate laboratory courses in a Faculty or School of Engineering at a Canadian University.

Dr. Wighton wished to promote excellence in the development, management and teaching of undergraduate engineering laboratories across Canada. The need to draw attention to the importance of undergraduate laboratories in engineering education led him to approach the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science in 1986 to establish a Fellowship. Selection is made in the Spring by the Selection Board, which consists of the Chair, Vice-Chair and Past Chair of the Engineering Deans of Canada.

[DW I mentioned earlier that you'd see more of John's dedication to the concept of using and improving teaching laboratories. This endowment has been paid out every year since 1987.]

Wighton Engineering Product Development Fund

(As per the fund's web site.) For many years the U.S. and Europe have led the world in basic research, as measured for example by Nobel prizes in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine. A number of countries have not participated in this effort, but instead have been active in developing and marketing new products derived from this endeavor. In fact, they have derived more benefit from the fruits of research than those countries that undertook it in the first place. Canadians have also had many good ideas over the years. In general though, the ideas have not led to products built by Canadians for sale on world markets.

The Wighton Engineering Product Development Fund supports activities in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Victoria that result in devices or systems that have a potential for reversing this trend. The Fund focuses the attention of students and faculty members on the design and manufacturing processes that convert ideas into products, and, hence, is expected to yield a number of beneficial devices and products. Though it is not a strict requirement, the Fund gives preference to projects with a direct social benefit, such as aids for the elderly and the handicapped, or appropriate technology for underdeveloped countries. Again, having participants gain an understanding of the needs of those less fortunate than themselves is as important as the resulting devices.

[DW I found three universities awarding these funds: University of Victoria, University of Waterloo, and Simon Fraser University. There may be more.]

Wighton Engineering Fellowship as offered through the Association of Commonwealth lUniversities

(As per the fund's web site.) The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is to promote and support excellence in higher education for the benefit of individuals and societies throughout the commonwealth and beyond.

Drawing on the collective experience and expertise, the ACU seeks to address issues in international higher education through a range of projects, networks, and events. The ACU administers scholarships, provides academic research and leadership on issues in the sector, and promotes inter-university cooperation and the sharing of good practice, helping universities serve their communities.

The Wighton Engineering Fellowship is only open to applicants from low and middle-income countries.

[DW. John's involvement with the ACU led to an invitation from Buckingham Palace to attend an informal audience where he and other ACU representatives would meet Queen Elizabeth II. I believe Ella went with John. I asked him about the ceremony but he said only that there was a long line and the Queen was nice. As to why he got the award, he said little. Getting information out of John could be time consuming. I knew nothing about his endowment with the ACU until I found it as part of this research. John was not one to beat his own drum. In fact, he didn't have a drum.]

Salvation Army Fund

(As per the fund's web site.) Established in 1989 by SFU benefactor John Wighton, the endowment stipulates that SFU use the proceeds from the endowment fund to provide advanced educational opportunities to Salvation Army personnel. Initially intended to help the Salvation Army in Canada, the endowment also helps the continuing education of the organization's 25,000 officers worldwide, who work with the poor and disadvantaged in 111 countries and another 40 countries on an unofficial basis.

As of 2006, the fund provided distance education programs that offers 25 courses in 30 countries. These courses are largely offered in the developing world where Salvation Army officers' development is constrained by local and national barriers to higher education. For example, in India many officers come from castes and social strata that prevent access to university education. As another example, the Salvation Army faces the challenge of educating officers who are spread out across a territory that stretches for thousands of miles along South America's west coast.

Vancouver Homestead

(As per the Homestead's web site.) The Salvation Army Vancouver Homestead opened its doors in 1988 operating as a residential support program for women seeking recovery from substance abuse. The mandate was to create a safe and secure environment for women to address the challenges they face in their recovery and move towards safe and independent living. On March 31 2015, the Salvation Army British Columbia Division announced it will close its Vancouver Homestead program due to a refocusing of it’s programming and resource provision in the Province. In the 27 years of service to the local community, hundreds of lives have been changed and hope has been restored. We are thankful for the services Vancouver Homestead has provided and for the hundreds of lives changed.

[From Dianne Harding, neé Wighton.] The Homestead organization, created by John, with the Salvation Army, was a foundation which was created to help single moms get back on their feet. It has become a place where addict moms can find shelter, get clean, get educated and get their children back. John attended regular meetings to approve various recipients requests for further education. Education was HUGE in the Wighton family. After John was gone, Dad took John's place as a voting member, and when dad was gone, I used to take Mom there to approve the applicants. Eventually mom was gone and I used to go as the family rep. It became apparent that it had become just a formality, and they didn’t really need our input to approve these applications, but I thought it was important that the recipients of all this money should know a bit about the person who started it all. I took them a big photo of John, along with a little write up and they put it on the wall. I haven’t heard from Homestead in years.

Conquering Poverty in Canada

In 1995, John wrote a book titled "Conquering Poverty in Canada." The book was published by Balmuir Books, edited by John Munro and was 220 pages long. (ISBN 0-919511-52-X) Balmuir Books was a book publisher active in the 1990s. It disappeared after that. I have a pre-publication copy of the book. John covers a lot of ground: Affordable housing, Welfare, Poverty of the soul, Capitalism as the creator of wealth, Economic rights and freedoms, Housing as a social science laboratory, An economy based on pie, Shunto the Japanese wage, and the Income maintenance experiment to name just a few. This book would be the equivalent, I think, to a Ph.D. dissertation. Would this surprise you?

Memories of John Wighton

From Dianne: Bud and I sometimes played a parlour game with John when we sat after dinner at their house. (Picking apples from their backyard tree). The game involved finding a challenging word from the dictionary, reading it to everyone, who wrote their own “definition”. Afterwards, all the ‘meanings’ were read out and we all tried to guess the correct one. (It’s a published game now.) The problem was that no matter which word we found, John ALWAYS knew the correct definition, so he won every single round! Encylopedic vocabulary!

From David: Speaking of apples, I too was gifted with apples after a visit. The difference here was that John was the one to clamber halfway up the tree where he balanced on as branch that dipped precipitously, reached up. and began tossing apples down to us. He would have been in his sixties.

From Dianne: When I was teaching in England for 1997-1998, and having an exceedingly difficult time, he sent me a very supportive and funny letter that encouraged me and lifted my spirits tremendously. As a child, he called me “Mugwump”I asked what that meant and he told me it’s someone who sits on a fence with their mug on one side and their ‘wump’ on the other. When I asked him what his job was he said he was a ‘meck-an-EKel en-gin-eer”. The g in the ‘Gin’ part was pronounced like the g in ‘gift’. Our family members still pronounce it like that in fond remembrance of him.

From David: After I graduated from Colorado, I returned to Vancouver to pursue a career in teaching. I had ambtions to be an admimistrator, so after my first year in the classroom, I decided to study during the summers for a Masters' degree from UBC. I was living in North Vancouver with Mom and Dad at the time. Somebody said something to somebody and I was offered the opportunity to live within walking distance of the university. Free room and board, with a catch. After I was finished classes, I would get to help Uncle John put up new gutters on the house. So I did. I slept in Grandma's bedroom on the ground floor. Somebody, probably John, had built a family rec room in the basement. This was the room where we'd gather for family events. I would head out to the basement after supper, spend three or four hours working on papers or some such ordeal. I don't know why I was so intent on getting an advanced degree. Neither John (Ph.D) or my dad (MBA) encouraged me overtly. But having John with his Ph.D. in the family gave me a goal to sstrive for. Eventually, I ended up with four university degrees including a Ph.D. John was there when we celebrated that final degree in 1991. I believe the importance of education in the family started with John Murray Wighton who made sure that his son Harry attended an elite school in Perth. When he was in Vancouver, Harry obtained a degree in civil engineering through correspondance. In turn, Harry and Miriam made sure that they had the money to send John and Jim to university even though the city was coming out of the depression

We think of John as a confirmed bachelor. But Marilynne knew something we didn't know. Back in 1952 when he was attending the University of Michigan, John met a woman and there was a connection of some kind. It was strong enough that both of them pondered what might come of it. She decided that nothing could come of it because she had to return home to take care of her elderly parents. John had the same obligation and made the same decision.

From Dianne: Yes, John was very quiet, at least until he and Ella were at the front door, leaving our place to go home. Then, the conversation flowed, like the cold air that came in for up to 45 minutes of last minute chat! I didn’t mind. They were starved for family contact, I think. John would hug for almost a minute, not wanting to say goodbye.

From David: Back to the emphasis on education in the Wighton family. John gifted Mike and Rob with post secondary bursaries that would mature after they graduated from high school. There were companies who would sell the concept: Invest money into our fund now, and your son/daughter will receive a bursary tax free. I believe that he did this with other grand nieces and nephews too. This was before the introduction of the government's RESP.

From Dianne: John was very very thrifty, like all his family, and tended to wear his wardrobe long after the time most people would replace items. He had one raincoat that was almost threadbare, but he just kept wearing it… “Nothing wrong with this coat”…. One day he went into the Salvation Army downtown, to talk to them about setting up a foundation, and they mistook him for a vagrant and tried to steer him to the soup kitchen! Little did they know."

From David: Speaking of being thrifty: At his memorial service, the Major of the Salvation Army told an anecdote. He would drive John hime after meetings, as John didn't drive. These rides home were always very strained for him because John didn't say anything. One time, he said "You don't talk very much, do you." John replied, "Not when I don't have anything to say."

From Dianne: When John was living in other countries I would sometimes write to him and just tell him what our family was doing. What we had for Christmas dinner etc, and he often wrote back a little longingly, as if he would have liked to have that kind of life. He was a great hugger and often brought me little presents from the countries where he was doing his university work. Silver bracelets, all kinds of knick knacks. He seemed to take after his father, both of them so sweet and gentle.

The Last Years

I'm not absolutely sure of the timing on this. After Ella was hospitalized, Dad and Dianne encouraged John to sell the house on W.8th and buy a condo in Surrey where he would be much closer to the rest of the family. John agreed and Dianne and Bud cleaned up the old house for selling purposes. John used to do a lot of walking in his previous location since he had easy access to the UBC Endowment lands. These are 3,000 acres of forests and trails. I went walking with him on one visit and he was covering a lot of ground. I believe he walked daily. He couldn't do that in Surrey, so he mostly stayed. John suffered from prostate cancer, starting from the last years on West Eighth ave, and continued with the chemo treatment for the rest of his life. Sitting around inside probably took a toll on him and he got a very bad case of pneumonia, Without anybody in the family being aware of it. He died May 10, 1998. We all felt very sorry that he died alone.

Sources

(1) The University of British Columbia Twentieth Congregation for the Conferring of Degrees. Thursday, May 9, 1935. [A booklet listing all of the graduates and their degrees.]

(2) The Vancouver Sun, June 14, 1952. "Three B.C. Students win U.S. Degrees." [Newspaper report that John was given a Masters' degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan. This was inaccurate. He was there for a Ph.D]

(3) Simon Fraser Week, March 21, 1991. "SFU Chancellor's Award. University honors idea man." [Article about John and his contributions to SFU. This included an interview where John gave personal information.]

(4) Simon Fraser University News, April 6, 2006. "Salvation Army fund helps world wide. [This article describes John's endowment to the Salvation Army.]

(5) Card from Simon Fraser University inviting recipients to a Memorial Service for the late Dr. John L. Wighton, May 20, 1998.

(6) Various internet searches, including searches for his endowments under variations of his name.

Personal recollections of Marilynne Finlayson (neé Peterson), Dianne Harding (neé Wighton), and David Wighton, all generation 9

Serzans, Margaret (generation 9; Granddaughter of Harry Wighton's sister)

Where to now? To read more about Generation 8, John Latta Wighton's immediate family, just click top to make a selection from Generation 8's genealogical table at the top of this page. The navigation buttons just below will give you quick access to biographies in other generations.