Dwight Thomas Wall, 84, of Riverside passed away from renal failure in Stamford Hospital on May 4, 2022 with his loving children by his side.
Dwight was born on August 2, 1937 to Thomas and Katherine (Kitty) Wall in Bloomfield, CT, where he was raised with his younger sister Anne. His childhood is where his lifelong passion for knowledge and education began.
A brilliant child, he skipped grades in elementary school and famously had a teacher write a note home to his mother that stated, “Please explain to Dwight that other children need a chance to answer questions, too.”
Dwight was always a hard worker, working a paper route for many years and saving up to buy his family their first television set.
Childhood is also where Dwight first discovered his love for baseball, especially his beloved Boston Red Sox.
He often said that as a child he discovered that reading could transport him to corners of the world he’d never otherwise see and he devoured anything with words, no matter the form. This was true until his last lucid moments.
Dwight graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1954 at 16 years old. A lifelong devout Catholic, he went on to earn an undergrad degree in English literature from College of the Holy Cross where one of his favorite memories was attending daily mass in Latin.
As an undergrad, Dwight earned money by typing other student’s papers. He said he enjoyed it because it allowed him to learn from classes he wasn’t taking. Deciding he wanted to dedicate his life to teaching adolescents, Dwight went on to earn a masters degree in education from Harvard University and a second masters degree in mathematics from Fairfield University.
Dwight taught for a record breaking 57 years in the Greenwich public school system, the bulk of which was as an English teacher at Greenwich High School. Among numerous accolades he was a distinguished teacher of the year award recipient in 1997 and at the time he retired in 2016 he had taught the longest of anyone currently teaching in town.
Because of this, Dwight was known everywhere he went in Greenwich and beyond. Anywhere he went, former students always approached him with an excited, “Mr. Wall!” and Dwight always somehow remembered at least one detail about the person, no matter how long ago he was their teacher.
He always said his goal was not just for students to learn the material, but to love learning it. He will be remembered through the thousands of students he taught over his extraordinary career.
Dwight was a dedicated husband and father who never complained, was amazingly generous, inhumanly patient and always ready to listen. His children will remember his boisterous laugh, sly humor, gentle kindness, completely non-judgmental nature and the passion with which he cheered on the Red Sox– no matter how many times they lost.
Dwight’s beloved wife Linda (LaDore) Wall, passed away in 2018 after her battle with cancer. He is survived by his sister Anne Wall, his children Patrick, Mary, and Daniel, and his grandchildren Terrell, Brandon, Jaden, Grant and Faye. The family held a private funeral and burial last month and interred Dwight at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Greenwich.
A public memorial service will be held at St. Catherine’s of Sienna (4 Riverside Ave, Riverside, CT) on June 18 at 10:00am.
All who knew Dwight or were touched by him in any way are welcomed and encouraged to attend. In lieu of flowers, please give a book to a child you love.
See also:
After 57 Years, Greenwich High School English Teacher Dwight Wall Retires
by Kai Sherwin, July 2016