Obituary of Donald A. Wight

Donald A. "Yogi" Wight, 91, of Bemus Point, NY, passed away on Thursday November 11, 2021, in UPMC Hamot Medical Center, Erie, PA. An area resident for most of his life, he was born August 10, 1930, in Westfield, NJ, a son of the late Thomas and Nellie Mathison Wight. He attended the State University of New York at Delhi and earned his degree from Cornell University in Agricultural Engineering. Don was a self-employed businessman his whole life. In earlier years he owned a service station in Mayville, NY and worked in sales selling mobile homes. He was a real estate agent and an insurance broker for many years, and worked as a rural postal carrier. In 1962, he partnered with Norm Skillman, and started the Skillman & Wight Store in Bemus Point. Don sold Alpine air purification units. Later in life, he and his wife Joyce owned and operated The Wight House Bed & Breakfast in Bemus Point. He also served as president of the Bemus Point Board of Education. He will be remembered by his family as a loving and caring father and grandfather who loved spending time with his family. He was a very honest and generous man and a great teacher to his children, where he made learning to do anything a fun experience. He loved music and the Wight home was always filled with music. He was a member of a barbershop quartet that sang in plays at the Little Theater of Jamestown and had an extensive record collection. He loved to sing and could play the piano and organ by ear. He was known as "Mr. Fixit", where he could fix and repair just about anything. He loved sports especially handball. racquetball, tennis, ping pong, and pool. He was an avid fan of the Cleveland Browns. He will be remembered for his love of Chautauqua Lake, spending time fishing for Musky, boating on his Chris-Craft or piloting his C-Scow sailboat and was also a pilot for the Bemus Point Stow Ferry. He and his wife enjoyed spending time in Hilton Head, SC and traveling in their motorhome meeting many fellow R-Ver's across the country. Don loved life and especially loved to make people laugh and was well known for his vast array of jokes. Don lived a very long, beautiful, and full life, and was so loved by so many of all ages. Surviving are his four children: Richard Wight of Bemus Point, NY, Robert (Peg) Wight of Cincinnati, OH, Wendy (James Gould) Johnson of the Finger Lakes, NY and Laurie (Kevin) Beaton of Bemus Point, NY, 12 grandchildren: Vanessa Wight Curabba, Jamie Wight, Alan Wight, Kate Maddox, Suzie Murphy, Phil Wight, Brianna Lopez, Brian Robert Johnson, Tyler Beaton, Leslie Wasik, Molly Beaton, Riley Beaton, 15 great grandchildren: Charlotte and Ozzie Curabba, Connor, Austin, Sydney, Juniper, Ryker and Iris Wight, Everett and Elsie Mattox, Mac Murphy, Benjamin and Sophia Lopez, Cora and Emma Wasik, and his brother, Phil Wight of Greenhurst, NY. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Joyce S. Wight whom he married February 10, 1951, and who died August 18, 2020, a daughter-in-law, Chris A. Wight who died September 9, 2021, two brothers, Herbert and Douglas Wight, and a sister, Ruth Dietz. A celebration of life will be held in the spring of 2022 in Bemus Point. Inurnment will take place in the Bemus Point Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Chautauqua Lake Association, 429 East Terrace Ave. Lakewood, NY 14750 or to the Bemus Point-Stow Ferry, P.O. Box 399, Bemus Point, NY 14712.