John William Wysner

John William Wysner, age 80, of Waterford, died unexpectedly at his home on the afternoon of January 8, 2026.
John is survived by his loving partner, Elaine Bronaka, his daughters Dana Natale (Bud), Kerry Wysner Purdy (Dan), Cathy Fountaine (Thomas), grandchildren Aidan, Kinsey, Nick, Haley Petrovic (Denis), Ashley, Thomas, and great grandchildren, who affectionately called him Papa John.
John grew up in Ferndale, Michigan raised by his parents Raymond and Evelyn Wysner. He went to Ferndale High School where he excelled at sports, including tennis and football.
John was president and owner of the management consulting firm, High Performance Group in Southfield, Michigan. He worked with heads of companies to design performance development and improvement systems for large automotive and other companies around the country.
John loved working as well as writing, reading, and when younger, marathons, distance running and power lifting. He also loved collecting first edition books and rare high-end pens. He has published eight books on performance improvement systems, business, history, economic trends, essays and autobiographical prose. He contributed to many poetry collections and won several awards for his work.
John loved movies of all kinds, especially Westerns and movie series like "The Godfather," "Rocky" and "Rambo" series with Sylvester Stallone, and action movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. He loved "A River Runs Through It" and "Legends of the Fall" with Brad Pitt, John Wayne movies, especially "True Grit," "The Shootist," and "The Quiet Man," and "Top Gun" and "Mission: Impossible" movies with Tom Cruise.
He was a brilliant intellectual, at times thoughtful, funny, quiet and caring, wise and compassionate. He loved animals, especially his little chihuahua, Gretchen.
John was a great fan of Detroit sports teams and his beloved University of Michigan Wolverines.
A memorial service will be held at a later date and will be announced on this page.