• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
John W. “Jack” Wittman died Jan. 21 at age 92. He was a longtime board member of the Cathedral Foundation, parent company of the Catholic Review. (Courtesy Wittman Family)

Wittman never stopped giving to Catholic institutions in Baltimore and beyond

January 24, 2018
By Paul McMullen
Filed Under: Local News, News, Obituaries

John W. “Jack” Wittman, who spent his childhood in a Catholic orphanage in East Baltimore and ceaselessly gave back to the church the rest of his life, died Jan. 21 at age 92.

Wittman quarterbacked the football team at Calvert Hall College High School; flew more than 20 missions as a B24 co-pilot over Europe during World War II; served on the board of the Cathedral Foundation, publisher of the Catholic Review; and proudly followed the athletic exploits of his children and grandchildren, but began life under meager circumstances.

Orphaned at age 4, Wittman and a younger brother were sent to St. Patrick’s Orphanage in Fells Point. He turned his memories of being raised there for eight years by the Sisters of the Holy Cross into a book, “The White Carnation” (Cathedral Press, 2006), the title being a reference to a Mother’s Day custom he disdained, of wearing a white carnation – rather than pink – if one’s mother had died.

Wittman entered a foster home, Calvert Hall and in 1943 what was then Marshall College in Huntington, W. Wa. After a highly-decorated military career, he attended The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and began a 42-year career in advertising with the Baltimore Sun.

Toward the end of his retirement in 1989, at the suggestion of Monsignor Thomas J. Donellan, Wittman was asked to study the business model of The Catholic Review, then a weekly newspaper. He joined its board, and for nearly two decades served the publication in that capacity and as a consultant.

“Jack brought his advertising acumen to the Review in a bold and progressive manner,” said Daniel Medinger, associate publisher/editor from 1989 to 2009. “He recognized our potential but understood the challenges, and helped us build our ad department into the best in the Catholic press.

John “Jack” Wittman is pictured with his wife, Doris, in an undated family photo. (Courtesy Wittman Family)

“All of the ideas and models we implemented came from Jack, he brought us those from the Baltimore Sun. Jack was a tough guy, he expected results, but he was positive, encouraging and so generous with his time.”

Wittman and his wife of 65 years, the former Doris Brendal, who died in 2011, raised five children in a row home on the south side of Herring Run Park and sent them to the parish school at St. Francis of Assisi in Mayfield.

His daughters, Dorothy and Donna, attended the former Seton High School and the Institute of Notre Dame, respectively. His sons, John (Butch), Scott and Tim, followed him to Calvert Hall, but not onto the football field, as all three excelled in soccer.

“My mother’s family took credit for that,” Scott said.

John “Jack” Wittman is shown, third from right, in an undated family photo. (Courtesy Wittman Family)

Wittman, who is also survived by seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, spent his last 14 years at the Oak Crest retirement village in Parkville. In tidying up his father’s affairs, Scott was taken aback by the breadth of his philanthropy.

“Cleaning up his papers, it’s as if he gave $50 to 100 different organizations every year,” Scott said. “Catholic schools, religious orders; it might appear to be a meager donation, but it was a lot for him.”

A viewing will be held at the Leonard J. Ruck Funeral Home, at 5305 Harford Road in Hamilton, Jan. 25, from 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.

An additional viewing will be held at Oak Crest Jan. 26, prior to an 11 a.m. funeral service in its chapel.

Email Paul McMullen at pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org.

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Paul McMullen

Paul McMullen, a resident of Austin, Texas, served as the managing editor of the Catholic Review from 2008 until his retirement in September 2021.

The author of two books, Paul has been involved in local media since age 12, when he began delivering The News American to 80 homes in his neighborhood. He began his journalism career with the Capital-Gazette Newspapers in Anne Arundel County, and spent more than 25 years as a sports writer for The Sun in Baltimore. His favorite writing assignments have included the Summer Olympics in Australia and Greece, the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and “Feet for Francis,” a 2015 walking pilgrimage from the Baltimore Basilica to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • ‘God showed up in a very powerful, powerful way’: Archdiocese of Hartford investigating possible eucharistic miracle
  • A miracle at a Sunday Mass in Connecticut
  • Fullerton Passion Walk a ‘deeply moving’ experience
  • Men urged to be on fire for faith at Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Maryland conference
  • Cathedral of Mary Our Queen to host world premiere of Passion setting

| Latest Local News |

Catholic group pushing for inclusive housing in city

Sulpician Father Louis Reitz dies at 93

Sister Regina Marie de l’Eucharistie Loftus dies at 86

| Latest World News |

As pope leaves hospital, he comforts couple, jokes with reporters

Hate crimes targeting religions on rise in Canada; crimes against Catholics increase 260 percent

Assisted suicide, euthanasia an ‘incredibly slippery slope’ in the West, says CUA panel

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • As pope leaves hospital, he comforts couple, jokes with reporters
  • Hate crimes targeting religions on rise in Canada; crimes against Catholics increase 260 percent
  • Assisted suicide, euthanasia an ‘incredibly slippery slope’ in the West, says CUA panel
  • Arrests made for ‘unruly conduct’ at Virginia university that disrupted pro-life meeting, injured student leader
  • Doctors say pope can be discharged from hospital
  • Pope visits pediatric oncology ward, baptizes infant
  • Movie Review: ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’
  • Catholic group pushing for inclusive housing in city
  • Additional charges filed in Vatican finance trial

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED