Donald Nesbit Wise

Mr. Wise was born on September 25, 1927 in Mayfield, Michigan to Delia Campbell Wise and Charles Arthur Wise. He was educated in Michigan and Chicago in the 1940s and ʻ50s, where he became an engineer in the nascent television industry. He served in the US Navy in both World War II and Korea and was honorably discharged in 1952. He moved his family from Michigan to Springerville in 1962 where he worked for the ABC television network as a microwave engineer on sites between Albuquerque, NM and Globe, AZ. Owner of White Mountain Communications in Pinetop, Mr. Wise was a well known businessman who had worked with communications clients throughout Apache and Navajo Counties for over 50 years, including several years as a technical consultant to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the White Mountain Apache Tribe. In these positions,he laid a foundation for the communication among fire fighters on the Reservation that is still in use today. His company was also responsible for the sale and servicing of the first car phones, pagers, and cell phones in the White Mountains. Mr. Wise was an active member of the Northland Pioneer College Foundation, the Democratic Party of Navajo County, the local congregation of the Unitarian Universalists, TRACKS, and the Audubon Society. He spearheaded efforts to bring National Public Radio to the White Mountains and was an avid golfer and a member of Pinetop Lakes Country Club. Mr. Wise was preceded in death by his first wife, Jacqualyn Wise (ne'e VanderLey)and his daughter Ann Wise Hale. His survivors include his sister Alice Patricia Ryckman (Traverse City, MI), daughters Christine Wise Janeczko (Longmont, CO), Diana Wise Ross (Salt Lake City, UT) Sarah Wise Kennedy (Yuma, AZ) and his sons Stephen C. Wise (Pinetop) and Richard B. Wise (Lilburn, GA). Other survivors include his friend and former wife, Liz Wise of Vernon, and his dear friend, Ann Yarmal of Show Low. Before his death, he had been hospitalized at Summit HealthCare Regional Medical Center in Show Low for gastrointestinal surgery. He died from respiratory failure at home, surrounded by his surviving children, with a view of the ninth hole. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Boys and Girls Cub of Whiteriver in memory of Ann Wise Hale (109 E. Manzanita, Whiteriver, AZ 85941 or (michelleclarkson@gmail.com) or the Humane Society of the White Mountains (3212 Porter Mountain Rd., Lakeside, AZ 85929 or www.hswm.org).