BY SHERLEY WETHERHOLD | John M. Wetherhold, a financial consultant and planner, died on May 2 at his home on W. 13th Street in Greenwich Village. He was 79.
He had fought a spirited battle against lung cancer.
John was born on June 13, 1944, in Yakima, Washington, to John M. Wetherhold Sr. and Mildred Sherley. He graduated valedictorian of Penns Grove Regional High School, in Carneys Point, New Jersey, in 1962 and received his bachelor’s degree, Phi Beta Kappa summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. He attended Harvard Law School and received his MBA from the Wharton School of Finance in 1969, where he was a Joseph Wharton Fellow.
John began his nearly 50-year career in finance at Dean Witter and Brown Brothers Harriman, and would bring his expertise to Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, China, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Maldives, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, among other places around the world. He held the CFA designation and was also a grader.
An avid and voracious reader, John also loved swimming, traveling, cigars, and Diet Coke with lemon, as well as fine American delicacies like scrapple and chicken fried steak. He especially enjoyed honky-tonk, bluegrass and rock ’n’ roll music, and was known to indulge in international cinema, absurdist comedies and science fiction films.
John was active in a number of historical and environmental conservation and social advocacy efforts in New York City and abroad. He attended Community Board 2 meetings. He loved dining out and supporting local businesses — he was especially known for circulating $2 bills.
John married his wife Linda in 1990, and they lived together in Greenwich Village for 33 years. He is additionally survived by his daughter Sherley, sister Anne and her husband Tom, brother Robert and his wife Elena, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews and friends around the world.
Inspired, inquisitive and independent, John will be remembered as a magnanimous man of adventure and caprice in a class of his own, eternally loved and deeply missed.
Fellow Downtown activists paid tribute to John Wetherhold, who was a very generous patron for many local community causes and initiatives.
“The world will be a lesser place without John, who gave so much and asked so little,” said Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance.
“John and I bonded over a couple recent public policies (opposing restaurant sheds and advocating for e-bike regulation) and their effects on our neighborhoods,” said former Allie Ryan, a former East Village City Council candidate. “He did not let his declining health stop him from advocating with a sense of humor. He will be missed.
“John was a kind and generous man who made lasting impacts and improvements in our community,” said David Marcus, a board member at the Cambridge House apartment building on W. 13th Street. “He will be missed.”
“John made amazing contributions with his participation in many endeavors,” said Union Square activist Gail Fox.
A memorial to celebrate John Wetherhold’s life will be held at a future date.
He was a generous donor to Class Size Matters and a very classy guy. I will miss him!
The world will be a lesser place without John, who gave so much and asked so little.
My condolences to John’s family. John and I bonded over a couple recent public policies (opposing restaurant sheds and advocating for ebike regulation) and their effects on our neighborhoods. He did not let his declining health stop him from advocating with a sense of humor. He will be missed.
John was kind and generous. I’m glad to have known him. Condolences to the family.
John was a kind and generous man who made lasting impacts and improvements in our community.
He will be missed.
Condolences to the family and the community.
John made amazing contributions with his participation in many endeavors.