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BORN
1934
DIED
2022
John Witt Obituary
ST. HELENA, CA -- John Leonard Witt was born in Dennison, Iowa on May 6th, 1934, and completed his life's journey on February 14th, 2022, at his home in St. Helena, CA surrounded by his family. He was 87. He was preceded in death in 2019 by his wife of 43 years, Barbara (Folkerth) Witt. He is survived by daughters Cynthia Maguire (children Madeline and Garrett), Carla Mehan (Craig Mehan, son Connor), Catherine Witt-Buccheri (Michael Buccheri, children Graham and Sabine), stepchildren Leslie Velasco and John Kennard Smith (Oona Archard).
John was raised on a farm in Odebolt, Iowa and graduated in 1956 with a chemical engineering degree from Iowa State University. He joined Shell Chemical Co.'s Plastics & Resins division in Houston in 1959 after three years of active duty aboard Pacific Fleet destroyers in the U.S. Navy. John worked at Shell until 1966, before leaving with another Shell engineer to start up and become part owner of Ohio Kal Plastics in Greenville, Ohio.
In 1972, John formed his own company, custom sheet extruder Witt Plastics Inc. also in Greenville. The company expanded to include a location in Lakeland, Florida and a sales operation in Puerto Rico. He was passionate about data and the use of information technology to improve processes, products, and services with a focus on quality and value. He invested in his employees, through training, providing decision-support tools, and implementing a bonus system that tied employee financial success and well-being to gains in productivity and quality. John's early adoption of technology to create knowledge workers and facilitate process improvements heavily influenced his children's career paths.
In 1993 Witt Plastics was listed among Arthur Anderson's top 100 privately held companies in the Dayton area, and in 1995 John was named Dayton-Cincinnati region Master Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. That same year Witt Plastics achieved ISO 9002 certification. In 1998, John was elected a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association.
He sold Witt Plastics Inc. in 2001 and moved to St. Helena in California's Napa Valley with his wife, Barbara. John's favorite saying was "living well is the best revenge." He loved traveling, classical music, food and wine, and entertaining.
A small Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. The family has set up an endowed memorial scholarship in his name. If you would like to make a donation, contact the Iowa State Foundation at 866-419-6768 and specify the John L. Witt Scholarship for Chemical Engineering.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for John Witt
5 Entries
Linda Osterman
June 4, 2022
Had the pleasure of knowing both John and Barbara. Visited with them in Ohio and California. Enjoyed their journey with their Napa home and the wine of course. A life well lived.
Carole Williams
March 8, 2022
When we moved to St Helena in 1998, John and Barbara quickly became among our favorites. What an interesting, talented couple. Wish they both had lived forever.
Ed and Judy Baker
March 5, 2022
I worked for John at Ohio Kal Plastics until he started Witt Plastics!! He was a great boss and a Kind wonderful man!! So sorry for the family's loss and I will always have fond memories of John!!
Tonya Graham Dohme
March 4, 2022
I worked for John at Witt Plastics and was honored to be a part of his team. He treated us with respect and truly appreciated his employees and this made us feel like a team and we all worked hard to make the business successful. I am saddened to hear of his passing . My memories of working there will always hold a special place in my heart.
Jan Gish
March 4, 2022
It really saddens me to read this. John was such an interesting person. He was so innovative! I worked in IT and he amazed me with his fearless and enthusiastic use of technology in the company. He was a so generous with his employees. I really like the man!
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