On the evening of June 30, 2022, Webster Goodall Wiley III passed away surrounded by family in Provo, Utah. Our dad, known as Webb to all who knew and loved him, lived a life filled with family, fast cars, skiing, surfing and his fair share of burgers.
Webb was born to his parents Webster G. Wiley Jr. and Carolyn Wiley on April 25, 1944, in Glendale, California. He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley with his three sisters, during a time when the city was far less developed than it is today. Webb spent his childhood shadowing his father on-the-job, building mid-century modern homes in La Crescenta, and it was during this time he began developing an interest in architecture, geology and construction. He later started his own construction business working on big, complex jobs that involved landslide repairs, waterways and highways; he loved to operate a loader. He enjoyed working and continued his business into his 70s. Webb spent his entire adult life within 15 miles of where he was born, aside from the last four months of life, in Pasadena and La Cañada.
Our dad loved to tell adventure-packed stories of childhood mischief and reveled in the fact that he knew local police officers by name. Never one to sit still, he enjoyed quintessential California activities like surfing, skiing, skateboarding, boating, water skiing, motorcycle riding and biking. He often told the story of falling from the broken Kratka Ridge ski lift, and when his experience was recounted by a local newspaper he joked that “all he got from it was a new pair of poles.” The other story he loved to tell was the one of young love. Our dad met our mom, Laurel Ann Wiley (Underwood), who was “by far the cutest girl in school.” According to him, she was the prettiest, smartest and most perfect person he had ever laid eyes on. The two high school sweethearts were happily married for 54 years and had three children, Stephanie, Scott and Brett, and seven grandchildren whom they loved unconditionally. Webb also harbored a love of giant dogs and enjoyed Leonberger ownership after his kids left the nest.
Webb had a lot of interests ranging from new sports cars to vintage automobiles and construction machinery, his love of anything with an engine is a trait that has been passed along to his children and grandchildren. He also had a gift for developing friendships with everyone he crossed paths with, he loved to form connections with his community and counted his banker, pharmacist and the folks at Gelson’s as his friends. He loved to support small businesses and would often spend a solid 30 minutes speaking to the owners of family-run operations, learning about their life story; he was a maple syrup aficionado and could tell you all about the different varieties from his favorite Vermont-based brand, Slopeside.
Throughout his life, he valued discipline and routine. He woke up early, was always clean-shaven and nicely dressed, and he enjoyed getting organized by journaling and making to-do lists.
In 2017, our dad was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and it was in his later years that he lived by Admiral McRaven’s10 lessons. Lesson No. 10 was: “never give up.” Through the support of his family, friends, and his medical care teams, he battled the disease for an impressive five years (the longest anyone with this form of cancer has lived). He lived life on his own terms and it was fitting that being the patriotic person he was, he found peace and was reunited with our mom, Laurel Wiley, and his grandson Tommy Saliamonas, just before the Fourth of July weekend. It was also fitting that his last meal was In-N-Out, #2, fries well done.
Webb is survived by his sisters (Sheryl Zelhart, Annette Wiley and Chris Krause), his children, grandchildren and daughters-in-law (Stephanie Wiley and her son Peter Saliamonas; Scott and Sarah Wiley and their children Brenden, Oliver, June, Huck and Truman; Brett and Lindsay Wiley).
The family would like to thank Dr. Donald W. Barber (aka Skip), Dr. Matthew Genyeh Mei, Dr. Ghulam Rehman Mohyuddin (aka Dr. Manni) and their care teams who all showed our dad great compassion and supported him throughout the entirety of his cancer treatment. The family requests that any generosity in the form of memorial donations be directed to the City of Hope.
A celebration of life and memorial service will be held on Friday, Sept. 23, at the La Cañada Presbyterian Church at 2:30 p.m.
