Dwight Wayne Heminger, a Claremont resident since 1957 and a man of multitudinous interests, died on April 12, 2009 at his home of many decades. He was 80.

An entrepreneur, photography buff, musician, salesman, underwriter, professor, mountain biker, computer expert, family man and much more, Mr. Heminger led a varied and full life.

“He was always looking for new things to do, always seeking something new” said his wife of 57 years, Jodey Heminger. “He was interested in so many things.”

Mr. Heminger was born on February 2, 1929 in Wenatchee, Washington to James Russell Heminger and Martha Stryker Heminger. His mother died a week after his birth, leaving him to lean on his father’s many sisters for motherly care.

“He had 6 aunts, and they pretty much kept an eye on him. Some seemed to be somewhat like a mother to him,” said Ms. Heminger. “But it was his father that was so, so close to him.

Mr. Heminger spent his childhood on the family apple ranch, “in the apple capital of the world,” noted his wife. While attending local schools, he launched his first business venture, “The Breezy Point Photo Service,” as a teenager.

“Obviously a pioneer in his field, he offered a 2-day service!” wrote his wife in a remembrance.

“He ran quite a business,” she said.

His love of photography endured, and when he left the Wenatchee apple ranch in 1947 to attend La Verne College (now the University of La Verne), he handled a fair amount of the institution’s photography. He also studied photography at the University of Southern California.

Also interested in music, Mr. Heminger played clarinet, drums, piano and, later, the guitar.

In 1951, he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from La Verne College and married Jodey, a fellow student at the college, the same year, on September 21.

“It was one of those chance meetings,” she said. “And it stuck for a quite a few years.”

Following college, Mr. Heminger joined the naval reserves as an aerial photographer in Wing Staff 77 stationed in Los Alamitos. When the Korean War began, he enlisted in the navy and trained as a hospital corpsman at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego. In 1955, he was honorably discharged.

In 1957, he and his wife moved to Claremont.

Following military service, Mr. Heminger began working for the Southern Counties Gas Company and then for the Automobile Club as a sales representative. Next, he entered the life insurance field, working for Mutual Trust Life Insurance and, later, as a greater Pomona Valley general agent with Central Life Assurance Company. In 1974, he became a chartered life underwriter and served as president of the Pomona Valley Life Underwriters.

In 1980, Mr. Heminger was named manager of the Southern California Electronics Association, a high technology trade association.

For many years, Mr. Heminger owned his own securities and financial services business. He was also a professor of business education at Chaffey College and a speaker for the Small Business Center at Cal Poly Pomona. 

In 2002, at the age of 73, Mr. Heminger finally fulfilled a lifelong dream that began as a teenager in the Civil Air Patrol in Wenatchee—he earned his pilot’s license.

“At that age, it was sort of a now or never thing,” said his wife. “When I saw what he had to know to pass that test, boy it was so much. But, oh my, he loved to fly.”

Though ill at the time, he took his last flight in a friend’s plane in 2008, returning in high spirits.

“He looked rejuvenated. He was just so excited,” said Ms. Heminger.

Mr. Heminger’s friend, the pilot, permitted him to land the plane.

“I landed perfectly, I didn’t forget a thing!” his wife remembers him saying when he returned from his last adventure in the sky.

Involved in so many things during his life, “anything family” stood out as the most important, said his wife.

“His family was the greatest joy of his life,” she said.

He was also a loyal friend, Ms. Heminger continued. 

“If he is your friend, that will be the best friend you’ll ever have in your life,” she commented. “He will go to any length to help you and stay in contact with you.”

Mr. Heminger is survived by his wife, Jodey Heminger of Claremont; by his daughter and son-in-law, Lindy and Steve Geiger of Claremont; by his sons and daughters-in-law, Brian and Carol Heminger of Half Moon Bay and Kerry and Kim Heminger of Claremont; by his granddaughters, “Papa’s Girls,” Caitlin, Stefanie and Alyssa Geiger and Lauren and Lindsey Heminger, all of Claremont; by his godson, Geoff Hospital of Canada; and also by his devoted and constant canine companion, Rocky. 

A celebration of Mr. Heminger’s life was held on April 17, 2009 at Calvary Chapel in Upland with his son, Brian Heminger, officiating. A final service will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Wenatchee, Washington in the near future.