In Memoriam
John Lawson Wyatt
The Winchester Campaign for Grade-Level Reading continues to mourn the passing of John Wyatt. As the founder of the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation (J2W), John looms large in the lives of children in Winchester. His passing on May 5 represents the loss of a committed and vocal advocate for children and the importance of a strong educational foundation.
John Wyatt was originally from Australia – a place that he described as having, “an attitude that you give everyone a fair go,” and where, “the educational system is really good, so people honestly do get a fair go.” He arrived in the US in the 1970s, and while here, was bit by the entrepreneurial bug; he had a long and successful career in the U.S. where he built and led six successful companies, mostly in the software industry.
After his retirement in 2016, John and his wife Janice wanted to find a way to use their resources to help kids build a foundation for a successful future of their own. Surprised by the challenges the school system faced in the area around Cambridge, Maryland, where they had purchased a home, they decided to do something to fix the problem. In 2018, they created the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation (J2W) with the mission to level the playing field for economically-disadvantaged families by investing early in children’s education within targeted communities, specifically Dorchester County, Maryland; and Winchester and Fairfax County, Virginia. John believed individual organization investments were helpful, but to truly make a difference, the entire community must rally around the importance of literacy and improving academic outcomes.
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In 2021, the J2W Foundation introduced Winchester to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national childhood literacy movement, by awarding initial grants to develop a local Campaign community in Winchester. In April 2025, the Campaign transitioned its administration and coalition convening authority to the United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley where it expects to see growth at an even greater rate. Since 2020, John has invested $1.1 million dollars into Winchester and he was proud to see the Campaign flourish over the last three years.
The loss of John Wyatt will leave an irreplaceable hole in our community and beyond. The John & Janice Wyatt Foundation remains committed to working with community stakeholders to improve the lives of children through high-quality educational programs and John’s legacy will live on through his family and with the foundation’s work. His wife and three children are determined to see John’s vision of positive change come to life.
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