John Todd Wise
6/24/1944 – 7/14/2026
 
John T. Wise passed away peacefully at the age of 82 on July 14, 2026, in hospice care at his home in Dennis, Massachusetts, on the Cape he loved more than anywhere else in the world.

Born on June 24, 1944, in England during World War II, John entered the world during an extraordinary chapter in history. He was the son of Carl Richard “Dick” Wise, an Army doctor and later personal physician to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Esme Mirren (Barford) Wise, who was British, spoke multiple languages, and worked as a spy for the British during the war. John loved sharing stories from those remarkable early years. As an infant, he was presented to Queen Mary, the Queen Mother. As a toddler, he learned Latin when his mother read him the Aeneid during their Atlantic crossing. One of his favorite childhood treasures was the very first train set he ever received—a gift from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. These stories delighted family and friends, not simply because of the history behind them, but because John shared them with the same sense of wonder and gratitude throughout his life.

After the war, the family settled in Katonah, New York, where John graduated from John Jay High School before attending Brown University, majoring in Classics, a subject that would remain a lifelong passion. He later continued his studies at the University of Vermont and taught Classics at the Commonwealth School in Boston before beginning a career with Prudential Insurance, which eventually brought him to Los Angeles around 1971.

There John discovered his calling in the law. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California in 1978, graduating Order of the Coif, and clerked for the Honorable Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. of the U.S. District Court. He practiced as a civil litigator with Latham & Watkins and with Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro before opening his own law firm. In 1996, he joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement, where he spent nearly three decades serving as Regional Counsel and Senior Trial Attorney before becoming a lead investigative and trial attorney. Those who worked alongside him respected not only his brilliant legal mind, but also his integrity, fairness, and unwavering commitment to doing what was right.

While John found great satisfaction in his work, his greatest joy came from the people he loved. During his years in California, he married Daphne Stegman, and together they raised their three daughters: Sarah, Kathleen, and Mirren. He treasured the simple moments of fatherhood such as reading bedtime stories, taking his girls to sporting events, introducing them to the music he loved, and simply spending time together.

One of Mirren’s favorite memories of her father began when she was just a baby. John would tuck her under his arm “like a little football” and carry her to McDonald’s for french fries. As she grew older and learned to walk, those outings became father-and-daughter walks through the neighborhood, hand in hand, to share an order of fries together. Looking back, it was never really about the fries. It was about the time together, the conversations, the laughter, and the quiet love found in life’s simplest traditions. It is a memory she will forever hold close to her heart.
John would often tell his friends and family the best holiday was Thanksgiving because he enjoyed the sentiment, getting together with family and friends, the three days afterwards to relax, and no presents. Many friends would later tell John how he had enriched the holiday for them and their family.

Cape Cod was John’s true home. He first came to the Cape when he was eleven years old, and from that moment on it held a permanent place in his heart. His family maintained a home in Dennis beginning in 1956, and in 2007 John built the year-round house, designed by his brother Christopher “Kit” Wise, where he would spend his final years.

It was also on Cape Cod, at the age of sixteen, that John met Suzanne Dyer. They dated through high school and college before life eventually led them down separate paths. Decades later, in 2002, they found one another again. What had begun as a teenage romance on a Cape Cod beach resumed as though no time had passed, and in 2010 they were married. Those who knew them often said their story was proof that some people are simply meant to find each other, no matter how much time has passed.

John approached life with endless curiosity and enthusiasm. He found joy in tending his garden, losing himself in a good book, researching genealogy, collecting stamps and coins, playing computer games, and enjoying games of pinball and pool. He loved learning, discovering new things, and sharing those interests with the people around him. John was notorious for his ability to tell a good story, a skill which served him well in both his personal life and his legal career. He was kind, thoughtful, sharp, witty, direct, and decisive—a man who meant what he said, whose honesty was always accompanied by compassion, and whose quiet sense of humor could brighten a room.

John was preceded in death by his beloved daughters, Sarah Stegman-Wise and Kathleen Stegman-Wise; his brother, Michael Wise; and his parents, Mirren and Dick Wise.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Suzanne Dyer Wise; his daughter, Mirren Wise Hatfield, and her husband, Kristopher Hatfield; his brother, Christopher “Kit” Wise; and his former wife, Daphne Stegman. He also leaves behind many extended family members, dear friends, colleagues, and neighbors whose lives were enriched by knowing him. His wisdom, kindness, unwavering integrity, gentle humor, and deep love for those he held dear will continue to live on in the countless memories he leaves behind.

Although John’s life was filled with remarkable experiences, prestigious accomplishments, and extraordinary stories, those who knew him best will remember something far more important: the husband who found his way back to his first love, the father who made ordinary trips for french fries unforgettable, the man whose curiosity never faded, and the friend whose kindness and honesty could always be counted on. His legacy is not only in the work he accomplished, but in the love he gave so freely and the lives he touched so deeply.

A small, private memorial will be held with close family on Cape Cod in the fall of 2026.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Recovery Cafe Cape Cod at http://recoverycafecapecod.org or to the Kathleen Stegman-Wise Memorial Scholarship at Santa Monica College, check to Santa Monica College Foundation, 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica CA 90405, with memo “Kathleen Stegman-Wise”.

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