In Memoriam

Mark A. “Sandy” Wightman

On May 3, 2025, we were notified by Yale that our classmate Mark A. “Sandy” Wightman had died on November 9, 2024. Here is his obituary followed by a brief essay written by him for our 25th Reunion Book in 1989.

Obituary

Santa Fe New Mexican

November 28, 2024

Mark “Sandy” Wightman
1960 Yale graduation

Mark Austin Wightman, beloved husband and father, passed away on November 9, 2024 at the age of 82.

Mark was born in New York, New York, on February 12, 1942 to Kent and Ruth Wightman. He grew up in the rural community of Weston, Connecticut, where his favorite pastime was riding his bike to outcroppings, looking for minerals and fossils. He attended the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, followed by four years at Yale University, majoring in psychology.

After graduation, he switched gears, pursuing a Ph.D. in geology at Yale, where he met his wife, Mary Ann. Another swerve led him to medicine and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia in New York, graduating in 1970. Following an internship in Cooperstown, New York, he served as a commissioned officer with the U.S. Public Health Service in Dulce, New Mexico and then Santa Fe. He was hooked on the southwest! Two years of internship in anesthesiology at Columbia, followed by a year's fellowship in Tucson, Arizona, and he was back in Santa Fe.

Mark “Sandy” Wightman
recently

Mark's greatest devotion was to his family and raising his two boys, Reeve and Scott. As a family, they loved to camp and travel, and had a shared interest in photography and jewelry making.

Mark's deep empathy and compassion were the cornerstone of his work in medicine. He dedicated his professional life to Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, first as an anesthesiologist and then, after retirement in 2000, as Director of Physician Relations. He was devoted to the hospital and its community, his career rooted deeply in the goal of providing the best care possible to the people of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico.

Mark is preceded in death by his beloved son Scott, and by his younger siblings, Sharon (Wightman) Frey and Daryl Kraine (formerly Scott Cornelius Wightman). He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, and his son Reeve. A gathering of friends will take place at the Vernick Conference Room, Christus St. Vincent Hospital on Friday, December 6, at 12:00 noon. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Mark by making a donation to The Food Depot.

Essay, 25th Reunion Book

by Mark Wightman

It’s been the best of times: the joys of love, marriage, job success, birth of children, friends made and great times shared.

And the worst of times: the heartache of a child’s chronic illness, death of parents, personal illness, and a physician’s witness to others’ trials.

How young a 22-year-old seems now, but how much fun it was. Now, sadder and wiser, life seems even better than ever. But, boy, it’s been a roller coaster!