Obituary: Wayne Wittman, union leader and peace activist

Wayne Wittman devoted his life to social causes.

"He had a passion for helping folks in the community unlike anyone I have ever been around," recalls Lynne Larkin-Wright, state AFL-CIO community services liaison.

"The guy was very committed in the ministry to people who were living on the edge," said the Rev. Stephen Adrian, a retired priest. "He never drew attention to himself."

Wittman, 86, of St. Paul, died Feb. 28 of a heart attack on a bus, returning home from the monthly meeting of the State AFL-CIO Retiree Council.

Wittman, an ordained Catholic deacon, had given his usual invocation. He had urged members attending DFL Party caucuses to support a resolution to allow absentee voting for people with disabilities who would be unable to get to the caucuses, said his son, Bob Wittman of Chaska.

"He was a huge union guy," said retiree council president Bill Moore. "Anytime they put out a call for volunteers, he'd be there."

Wittman chaired the St. Paul labor federation's community service committee for two decades, organizing support programs for laid-off workers and workers on strike; and raising funds for school supplies, Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs, and the United Way.

"He was one of my favorite people," said Shar Knutson, past president of the state AFL-CIO. "He had a beautiful soul. He cared about everybody."

A Navy veteran, he was also an antiwar activist.

"He was an absolutely tireless advocate and champion for members of the community and folks across the globe," St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said Friday, "whether it was forming the [state] chapter of Veterans for Peace or observing elections in El Salvador, which he did for many years. He really played a role in the fight for justice."

When people ran for public office in St. Paul, they sought out Wittman and his wife, Joan, for approval, Coleman said. Coleman did the same when he first ran for mayor in 2005. "Wayne was not an easy sell," said Coleman. "He wanted to know if you were committed to justice if he was going to support you."

Wittman's activism started early. He was 13 when he tried to organize the workers at a grocery store in Humboldt, Iowa, where he grew up. He got fired.

Wittman served as a corpsman in the Navy and later joined the anti-Vietnam-war movement, said Barry Riesch, a past local president of Vets for Peace. In 2014, Wittman was given a lifetime achievement award at the group's national convention, Riesch said. Wittman traveled by bus several times with his wife and grandchildren to protest the U.S. Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga.

It was easy to know where he stood from the buttons he wore, recalls his son, Dave Wittman of Woodbury. "They called him a walking billboard."

He was a deacon at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on St. Paul's East Side, a former member of the St. Paul school board and a counselor for state vocational rehabilitation programs, specializing in help for the visually impaired.

Besides his wife and two sons, he is survived by daughters Jeanne Rothaupt of Menomonie, Wis., Mary Jo Partida of Lakeville and Susan Mondry of Forest Lake. Funeral services have been held.