John Walter Dewey
John Walter Dewey, 79, of Waitsfield, VT, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2024, at home with his wife Morella, daughter Cathy and son John at his side.
John was born on July 14, 1945, to Arthur and Catalina Dewey in Lima, Peru, and was the youngest of four children. It was in Lima where he met his wife of 59 years and they first connected over their shared love of horses.
John came to the United States for college and graduated from St. Mary’s University in 1967. After graduation, John followed in his father’s footsteps and began his career at Citibank. His drive and personality supported a successful 19 years at the firm, and it was here that he achieved the position of president of Citicorp Industrial Credit, the firm’s asset-based financing subsidiary. By the time of his departure in 1986, he was a senior vice president and division executive supervising the asset-based financing business of Citibank in Europe.
In pursuit of continued personal growth, John took a position at Lehman Brothers in 1986 which allowed him to define himself as a successful investment banker until his retirement in 2003. John was a managing director and member of the management committee of the investment banking business. Additionally, John was responsible for senior banking relationships with a number of the firm’s Fortune 500 clients around the world.
During and following his career, John found the time to serve as a board member for numerous organizations including The Outward Bound School (Hurricane Island, Maine), The Webb Institute, and his alma mater Saint Mary’s University.
Throughout his lifetime, John enjoyed mastering a vast array of sports and hobbies and shared his love and enthusiasm for them with those around him. His extensive activities included but were not limited to alpine and cross-country skiing, tennis, bird hunting with his beloved dogs, golf, photography, polo, western horsemanship, and fly fishing. He was also a connoisseur and collector of fine wine. John spent his life constantly seeking out new challenges to master, and passed on this mindset of personal growth and resiliency to his children and grandchildren. His hearty laugh and larger-than-life personality filled every room that he entered.
John is survived by his wife Morella, daughter Cathy and her husband Jeff of Middlebury, VT, and their daughters Emily and Sara; son John and his wife Martha of Edison, NJ, and his daughters Rebecca, Isabella and Abigail; his brother Richard and his wife Mercedes of Houston, TX, and many other nieces and nephews.
His family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice.
