Orton H. Wisegarver II, passed away in Pacifica Dec. 30, 2009 after a valiant fight with prostate cancer. His wife, Marilyn, was at his side at the time of his death.

Orton is survived by his wife Marilyn Wisegarver, son William Wisegarver, daughter-in-law Mindy Wisegarver and two grandchildren, son Orton "Spike" Wisegarver III, and brother George Wisegarver. Preceding him in death were his son David and brother Paul. Orton lived in Pacifica since 1984.

Orton was born in Los Angeles on July 30, 1941 to Orton Hubert and Alta DeHuff Wisegarver. He graduated from Franklin High School in Los Angeles and recently enjoyed meeting old friends and classmates at his 50-year class reunion. He attended Stanford University, where he received an engineering degree. In 1962, he joined the U.S. Air Force and rose to the rank of captain, stationed in Oklahoma flying B52s.

A member of Rotary Club of Pacifica since 2003, Orton was recently awarded the Paul Harris Award for his contributions to the ideals of Rotary International.

Inquiries regarding what Orton "did" results in some pause for thought for where to begin.

With lifelong training in music and engineering, Orton had wide and varied experiences. To name only a few — as a young man, he was an engineer at Capital Records and later wrote and produced music in his own studio; he designed and installed traffic control systems; developed computerized engraving machines; he ran a bakery,

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a restaurant, a grocery market and a photography studio; he was a successful piano salesman and an engineer with Honeywell Corporation in Minnesota. Most recently, he enjoyed building personal computers and computer systems as well as providing Project Management services as a consultant.

The work of which he was perhaps the most proud was his involvement with International Student Exchange programs, through which he was able to touch the lives of countless young people all over the world.

In 2003, he and his wife Marilyn hosted their first exchange student from Germany and he soon thereafter became an Area Coordinator, placing scores of exchange students in loving homes in Pacifica and other cities around the Bay Area.

He and Marilyn have now hosted 12 students from eight different countries, and every one has brought joy and love into their lives. Orton strongly believed that through intercultural exchange, we can promote peace, understanding and trust between nations in a world that gets smaller everyday.

In his own words, "The future of our world rests in the hands of our youth, who will become the custodians of our small planet. We have a unique opportunity to help them better understand each other through International Student Exchange."

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at St. Andrew Church, 1125 Terra Nova Blvd. on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 11 a.m.

For those wishing to honor Orton's memory, a donation to Kaiser Hospice Services, 4131 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94118, would be greatly appreciated.