Wallace Fernald Witham Jr.

Dr. Wallace F. Witham, Jr.

1939-2018

Belleair Bluffs, Florida – Wallace (Wally) Fernald Witham, Jr., Ph. D., passed away at the age of 78 on July 19, 2018 in a healthcare facility in Seminole, Florida after a courageous and near-lifelong battle with diabetes and related complications. Born in Augusta, Maine, he was an open-minded, progressive-minded scholar of the world.

His academic achievements included graduating from Brewer (Maine) high school in 1958, the University of Maine (BA ‘62 and MA ‘67), and the University of Minnesota (Ph.D. in history, ‘74). His focus and passion were on Chinese and Japanese history. He taught for many years in several high schools, including Madison (Maine), Hopkinton (Mass.), and Gibbs High (St. Petersburg, FL). He retired from teaching in 2002 after teaching for 15 years in the St. Petersburg High School International Baccalaureate program. Dr. Witham was a faculty member at Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia for several years in the 1970s and he also taught for many years as an adjunct professor of Asian History at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.

Wally was an active participant in civics and local politics, serving as a Belleair Bluffs City Commissioner and then Vice Mayor for a total of 10 years and participating on several of the city’s citizen boards. He was a founding member of the Citizens for Fair Campaign Practices, a member of the Tiger Bay Club, and served as a poll worker for many years. His other interests first and foremost included a lifelong love of Red Sox baseball as well as researching his family genealogy, reading (and writing letters to the editor of) the St. Petersburg Times newspaper, exercising in Largo, Florida’s Taylor Park, tending to his beautiful hibiscus and other flowering plants, and his family. He was also known for joyfully dancing at weddings and other special events and was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

He will be missed and remembered by many, including his devoted wife of 52 years, Ellen; his beloved daughter, Karen; her husband, William D. Price; and their children, Dominic and Genevieve. Also surviving are his sister, Margaret (Margo) McGlone and brother, Paul Witham, as well as his maternal aunt, Priscilla Parkhurst, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents, Wallace F. Witham, Sr. and Eugenia Savage Witham, as well as siblings Elizabeth (Betsy) and John.

Ellen and Karen would like to express their gratitude to family, friends, and neighbors who have supported them during Wally’s final illness and especially to the dedicated caregivers of Diamond Home Health, Always There home health care, Consulate Health Care (Seminole), and Suncoast Hospice.

In tribute to the family’s beloved dog, Woofer, who passed away many years ago but remained in Wally’s heart until his death, and in service of homeless pets everywhere, the family requests in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Humane Society of Pinellas or to your local animal rescue organization. As per his wishes, no memorial service is planned. He will rest in peace in the family plot at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Brewer, Maine.