Dwight Pettay

Dwight Cheever Pettay, Jr., a Cadiz native, died Dec. 7 at his home in Northern Virginia of a stroke. He was born April 10, 1942 to Dwight Cheever Pettay, MD, and Helen Sadler Pettay. "Butch", as he was known as a kid, was a star student and football player who always had a big smile and optimism for his many friends, as well as his older sister, Cindy, his little brother, Flip, and Baby Sister, Helen. He graduated from Cadiz High School in 1960 and attended Ohio Wesleyan University. As both his father and grandfather were physicians, Dwight planned on going to medical school, too. But after graduating from OWU and teaching school briefly, he realized what he really wanted to do was to be an attorney. He graduated from Ohio Northern Law School before moving to the Washington DC area to accept a job as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. After a brief stint in DC, Dwight was approached to serve as assistant attorney general in charge of taxation for Ohio Attorney General William Brown. While in that position, Dwight had the honor of arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1974 (KOSYDAR v. NATIONAL CASH REGISTER CO.). Justice Stewart delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. While in Columbus, he and his wife were blessed with two children, Marci and Patrick, who were the apples of his eye from the moment of their birth. He delighted in swinging with them in his favorite hammock, singly or in tandem, and charming them by telling colorful fairytales that he invented. Columbus also was fertile ground for the entrepreneur in Dwight. With support from financial backers from his hometown, he and a colleague became the first Wendy's Hamburger franchisees on the East Coast. Dwight moved to Hartford with the family where he put his hard work, ingenuity, and legal acumen to work, quickly building the franchise to include more than a dozen Wendy's stores. Dwight was always ready for a new adventure, and after a long stretch in Hartford he moved to Milwaukee and then Northern Virginia to develop several other entrepreneurial endeavors. He was a devoted and involved father and was constantly impressed by his children's accomplishments, especially Marci's graduation from Catholic University of America Law School and her commission as an officer in the U.S. Army JAG Corps., and Patrick's graduation from University of Virginia and Wharton. An avid traveler and philosophical explorer, he could talk for hours about the afterlife, heaven, religion, and psychology with his friends and family. From the moment he found his adoring wife, Joceline, he was smitten by her beauty and her devotion to him. Dwight and Joceline lived happily in Northern Virginia for more than 16 years. Dwight is survived by Joceline, his daughter and son-in-law Marci and D'Andre Sam of Virginia, and his son and daughter-in-law Patrick and Sarah Pettay of London, as well as his brother and wife, Philip and Jean Pettay of Georgia, and his sister and husband Helen Pettay and Graham Ballingall of North Carolina. His older sister, Lucinda Pettay Graham, preceded him in death, as did his mother Helen S. Pettay and father, Dwight C. Pettay, MD. Dwight was a devoted husband, father, son, brother, and friend. He will be greatly missed.