Jack Walter Wickert
June 29, 1937 to January 1, 2018
Born on June 29, 1937 in Wisconsin to Walter Gottfried Wickert and Mabel Grace De Spain, Jack Wickert died on January 1, 2018 aboard his Mission Creek house boat.
As a child, Jack moved to Potrero Hill, where he lived for many years. He graduated from Mission High School, where he played football and trumpet. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in music, and served as a bugler in the Army Reserves. Jack lived on Mission Creek from 1998 to 2018 and retired as a San Francisco Unified School District music teacher.
In 1974, together with local artist Bonnie Sherk, Jack co-founded The Farm, a nonprofit cultural project where neighbors could garden, kids could work with animals, the community could hold weddings, funerals, and benefits and performing groups could rehearse. Located at the intersection of Route 101 and Caesar Chavez Street, The Farm lasted through most of the 1980’s. Later, with the assistance of many supporters and numerous agencies, the adjacent land, which had previously housed the Knudsen Dairy, became Potrero Del Sol Park, also known as Raza Park.
Jack was a valued member of the San Francisco Mine Troupe, the Pickle Family Circus, the Black Bear Commune, the Bayview Boat Club, and SOMArts.
A memorial and altar to celebrate Jack Wickert’s life will be held on Sunday, October 21, from 2 to 6 p.m. SOMArts, 934 Brannan Street.
