UPDATE: Gene Wyant will be honored and remembered with a “Celebration of Life” ceremony at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the Maricopa Veteran’s Center, 41600 W. Smith-Enke Road. His interment at Arizona’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 15950 N. Luckett Road in Marana, is at 10 a.m. the same day.

Gene Wyant, the only known surviving World War II veteran in Maricopa, died peacefully Monday night.

He was 95.

Wyant, who had a colorful and storied career in the U.S. Navy, was Maricopa’s 2023 Veteran’s Day Parade grand marshal.

Larry “Gunny” Foster, chaplain with the American Legion Post 133 in Maricopa, said Wyant loved the American Legion and was sad he could no longer attend meetings, even though his mind was still sharp.

The most recent Veterans Day Parade was a high point of Wyant’s life.

“He loved being in the parade and riding in that car,” Foster said.

Gene Elton Wyant was born June 1, 1928, to Gus and Elizabeth D. Wyant in Battle Creek, Mich.

He grew up in Winn, Mount Pleasant, Nashville and numerous other parts of Michigan.

His career in the U.S. Navy ultimately led him to Yokohama, Japan, after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing World War II to an end. Wyant was on board the USS South Dakota battleship as the war ended in August 1945.

He was just 15 when he transferred to Command L 33 Infantry Regiment at Point Huran Armory.  It was there that Wyant served guard duty of the Blue Water Bridge and the St. Clair Railroad tunnels along with the Power Plant and coaling station for the Great Lakes Ships.

Part of his job was to help guard Nazi prisoners of war held in Canada who were hired to come across the U.S. border and work for farmers in Michigan. His job was to watch the trains and rivers to make sure none of the Nazi POWs escaped.

At 17, Wyant went to the draft board to re-enlist, telling them he was 18. He joined the Navy and served two years active duty and 10 years in the reserves. He went to boot camp on Jan. 12, 1944, at the Great Lakes Naval Station.

Before he was 18, Wyant traveled the world during his Navy service.

When the war closed he was discharged in September to return to school.

He moved back to his family home in Nashville, Mich., where he re-enrolled at W.K. Kellogg High School. He graduated in 1947 and spent 30 years as a metal model maker in the experimental engineering department at the Oldsmobile plant in Lansing, Mich., until he retired in 1978.

He met his wife, the former Bonnie J. Dahm, and they were married on Sept. 2, 1949.

It was then that the couple built a house for their future family: Daniel, Bradley, and twins, Jack and Jill.

Wyant loved the outdoors and as a family they spent years camping, exploring and boating throughout Michigan. He also loved woodworking, building structures, repairing cars, hunting, fishing and bowling.

“Not only did he teach his family valuable life skills, he also helped all of his children with building tasks and his automotive expertise,” family members stated in writing about Wyant’s life.

After living in Florida and Wyoming, the Wyants moved to Maricopa in 2009, selling their Wyoming home and remaining here permanently.

Wyant is survived by Bonnie, his wife of 74 years, his sons, Daniel G. Wyant (Marilyn), Bradley E. Wyant (Deborah), and daughter Jill A. Wyant. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Iola Clucky (Wyant), and son Jack A. Wyant.

 

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