Adolf John Wise, Jr.

Adolf John Wise Jr. passed away peacefully October 29, 2024, surrounded by friends and family. A memorial service will be held at 2:00PM, Wednesday November 20th at Dayspring Baptist Church, 7900 Renewal Way in Waco.

John was born, May 20th, 1935 in Clifton to the late Adolf John and Della Mae Wise. He was delivered at the family farmhouse on the kitchen table, since the kitchen was the only room with an oil lamp.

In 1938, John’s entire family moved to Corpus Christi, after the family farm failed due to drought and The Great Depression. John attended public school and graduated from W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi in 1953. John worked from elementary school through high school at several different jobs. He worked at the carnival as a youngster and later at a boat dealership. He spent summers working as a shrimper in the Yucatan Peninsula area of Mexico.

John tried several attempts at five different colleges before finally graduating from Baylor in August of 1959. It was during one of his college experiments in Santa Barbara, California that he met Florence Marie Levin. They married in 1957, and shortly after returned to Waco to attend Baylor.

After graduation from Baylor, they moved to the San Francisco area where John attended Golden Gate Seminary. Following the Seminary, John and Flo returned to Waco so that he could pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Upon completion of classes at Baylor, they once again returned to California for John’s internship with the California Department of Mental Hygiene. Here he worked with street gangs in the San Francisco area, and he had some very colorful stories about his time spent there.

After completing the PhD requirements, they returned to Waco and he began his professional career. John practiced from 1967 until his retirement in 2001. In their retirement, they traveled to all 50 states and several foreign countries. Flo read and birdwatched, and John fished. They both had a passion for history. They successfully visited all of the museums they had on their extensive list.

Flo Wise passed away peacefully in November of 2018. Before passing she shared with John that she really hoped he would remarry, since she was worried about him being alone. Her prayers were answered two years later when, after dating for several months, John married, Billie Robert. She was his loving companion until the day he died. Both Billie and her daughter Debi welcomed him into their family with open arms and lots of love.

John is survived by his wife, Billie; his son, Eric Wise; daughter, Suzanne Long, and 8 grandchildren.

The family invites you to leave a message or memory of John, on his “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.