Lives Well Lived
During January, one of the darkest months, we remember a few of the leading lights who’ve departed our community in the past year. Nancy Knapp, Nestor Weigand, Sandy White and Angela Wright were all unique individuals, but each one of them projected a generosity and optimism that lifted everyone around them, in both personal and business spheres. These four will be missed, but their light shines on in the memory of all who knew them.
Angela Razook Wright
Written by Julie Underwood Burton
As a beloved wife, Angela shared an incredible love with her husband, Don, whom she met in 2002. The couple’s parents had been friends since the 1970s, and they would find themselves running into each other quite often. But one night, when Don delivered the infamous dessert to Angela’s table while she was dining with friends at YaYa’s Euro Bistro, the rest was history. They married a year later in the Bahamas on February 8, 2003. Twenty years later, SPLURGE! Magazine chose the Wrights as Wichita’s Sweetest Couple and featured the couple in the magazine’s February 2023 cover story. Undoubtedly it was a match made in heaven and an incredible love story that spanned over 20 precious years.
Earlier in life, Angela pursued modeling while growing up. Beginning at age 18, she entered a local modeling contest. She advanced to the Venus Model Search, a national pageant in Florida which she won. Angela was crowned Miss Venus International 1992, a title that opened the door to numerous contracts over the next decade. Living in Los Angeles and Florida for months at a time, Angela modeled for media, including Venus catalogs, ”American Swimwear” magazine and “Fit” magazine, landing on multiple covers. She did her last modeling shoot 20 years ago when she was dating Don.
Angela always kept Wichita as her home base, and with an entrepreneurial spirit, she was a full-time successful business owner of Wichita-based answering service, Answer Advantage. The business thrived in a competitive industry because of Angela’s dedication to excellence and exceptional customer service.
A health coach and popular fitness instructor, Angela inspired others to live a healthy lifestyle. Angela said that she and Don would start their day with a workout at least three times a week, and those joint workouts helped them stay emotionally and physically strong as a couple.
Angela will truly be missed by many, including her staff at Answer Advantage, who said she was “a constant source of support,” a “true cheerleader,” and “an inspiration to many,” among many other tributes. Fitness class participants at the East YMCA often said they never missed a class if Angela was the instructor.
Wherever she went, whoever she met, Angela was known for bringing joy to countless lives, and her loss certainly will leave a void in the hearts of many. But no one was more important to Angela than her husband and family. Initially, Angela didn’t think she wanted children, but it was Don’s 6-year-old son, Keaton, who changed her mind, along with her own goddaughter. Together Angela and Don raised three children: Keaton, Brecken and Croix. The happiness of her family was paramount to Angela as she took pleasure in spoiling them all with her love and kindness.
Angela had a contagious laugh and radiant smile, but will be especially remembered for all the love and joy she spread to everyone she met.
Nancy Knapp
Written by Julie Underwood Burton
A life well-lived is one filled with purpose and meaning, and those words define lifelong Wichitan Nancy Knapp.
Described as a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother, one of Nancy’s main purposes was to provide a solid foundation for her two grandchildren, Kayleigh and James, who she cherished with all her heart. According to many, Nancy was their safe haven of unconditional love and support.
Her sudden death on Sept. 14, 2023, was a shock to her many friends, family members and acquaintances. She was preceded in death by her husband, her two children and, later, her fiancé. In true fashion, Nancy persevered, not only focusing on her beloved grandchildren, but spending much of her time devoted to the Wichita community and her alma mater, Wichita State University.
“Nancy was a shining example of a life well-lived,” said her sister, Judy Morris. “She was devoted to her family and friends, and her grandchildren were the light of her life.” At Nancy’s memorial service, her brother, Michael LeBlond, shared how music was always in his sister’s soul; she proclaimed her life — including highlights, dreams and even disasters — framed by different stages and ages of music.
Many Wichitans know Nancy as she grew up on north Bluff Street in College Hill and lived most of her adult life across from the College Hill Park swimming pool. She graduated from WSU in 1988 and built a career in the health insurance industry. She was also quite successful as a Mary Kay consultant and Monat Market Partner, forming lifelong friendships and achieving numerous honors in those roles.
Throughout her life, she supported many of Wichita’s civic causes and was active in Designing Women, the Junior League, Mark Arts, P.E.O., Chapter EM and Sunflower Friends. As a devoted Shocker basketball fan, Nancy was extremely excited to receive a well-deserved honor as the Mel Hambelton Ford Fan of the Game in January 2018. Rarely did she miss a game.
An unknown author once wrote, “A life well-lived is a precious gift of hope and strength and grace from someone who has made our world a brighter, better place.” Nancy’s passion for serving her friends and community was never-ending, and she had a way of making everyone feel special. Her personality, natural charisma and laugh were infectious.
“People have mentioned to me how Nancy would light up the room with her presence and her smile,” Judy said. “She was truly a blessing to all of us in her world.”
Nancy’s family said she was truly a wonderful woman whose impact will be forever felt by those who loved her. Her ability to sacrifice, provide, support, forgive and love, they said, will be forever treasured by everyone she knew. Most importantly, she leaves behind the gift of optimism, the belief that anything is possible to achieve with a smile and a chuckle; and her faith in God, trusting this is but the first chapter in the book of life.
Nestor Weigand
Written by Joe Stumpe
A lot of influential people got their first impression of Wichita from a gentlemanly realtor named Nestor Weigand, Jr.
Weigand, who served as president of the Kansas Association of Realtors in the 1970s, became president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in 1988 and president of the International Real Estate Federation in 2001.
“He went all over the country promoting Wichita, Kansas, and what an amazing place it was,” his son, Johnathan Weigand, said. “Then he went all over the world — Paris, London, Brussels, Prague. People who’d never heard of Wichita heard of it because of Nestor Weigand.”
Weigand died in November at age 84 after a battle with metastatic melanoma.
Realtor Magazine called Weigand a “giant” in its obituary of him, noting that he led NAR “during a milestone in fair housing history.” He was the group’s president when the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988 was signed into law, “extending discrimination protections to people with disabilities and families with children,” the magazine reported.
Weigand attended Catholic schools here, then earned a finance degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1960. He served in the Army Reserves before joining J.P. Weigand & Sons in 1961. The business is one of the city’s oldest, having been founded by Weigand’s grandfather in 1902. With $625 and a 1951 Packard — the latter a gift from his mother — Weigand embarked on his life’s work, becoming president and CEO of the firm in 1983.
“As far as in the organization, he’d say we hire and work with character but we train skill,” Jonathan Weigand said.
Weigand rarely forgot to congratulate colleagues on a birthday or real estate closing. With clients, his son said, “It was all about finding good partners. It was unequivocally relationships.”
His passion for real estate might be surmised by the numerous professional designations he acquired through the years: CRE (counselor of real estate), SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors), CRB (certified real estate brokerage manager), CCIM (certified commercial investment member), CIPS (certified international property specialist) and RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors).
“Nestor was a firm believer that anything you’re passionate about, you need to understand all the mechanics and inner workings on what it takes to get to the finish line,” his son said.
Bradley Fair and the Innovation Campus at Wichita State University are two of many local developments that bear his influence, but his business dealings and reputation stretched from California and Texas to Washington, D.C. As president of NAR, he met with Ronald Reagan and was in the Rose Garden when Reagan signed the Fair Housing Act into law.
Weigand formed close friendships with NAR members across the country and encouraged them to become active politically. He ran for political office once, narrowly losing a 1990 challenge in the Republican primary to incumbent Gov. Mike Hayden.
Weigand contributed to numerous community efforts, serving on boards of Music Theatre of Wichita, Wichita Symphony Society, Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce and Fourth National Bank. He was most proud of serving on the board of Wesley Medical Center for 40 years, including a term as its chairman.
He was known for his suits and ties, sense of humor, story-telling and curiosity. He relaxed with a glass of red wine, a book or game of backgammon, and was as comfortable on the patio at Newport Grill as he was in a booth at Ty’s Diner (which set out a burger, candle and bottle of grape Crush in his honor).
Weigand is survived by his three sons, Nes (Laura), Stephen and Johnathan; former spouse, Luann; four grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Donations can be made in his honor to HomeCare & Hospice of the Valley, which cared for him; Empowered, an educational nonprofit; and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.
Sandy White
Written by John Huthmacher
A familiar voice among Wichitans, silenced by cardiac arrest on Aug. 28, lives on in his work as a longtime disc jockey, musician, sound man and voice actor.
Sandy White, 62, achieved local celebrity status as guitarist and vocalist of his cover band, Ten Day Wish, alongside his wife of 33 years, Tanya White. The group, which disbanded in 2020, frequented the Wichita music scene for more than 30 years.
Boasting an ample body of work as a voice actor, Sandy’s professional reel included voice-overs for the World Wrestling Federation, car companies, pinball and video game characters, seminars, and web sites. He is perhaps best known for his role as the voice of the Spangles Restaurant hamburger chain and decades of radio work, including lengthy stints with rock radio stations T95 and 104.5 The Fox.
“He was kind of laid back, but could be very outgoing once you got him started,” Tanya said. “He didn’t have a huge ego and never bragged about himself, (but) I always bragged about him. He was more of a listener until you put him in front of a microphone, then it was a different story. That’s when the switch turned on and he became Sandy the performer.
His hard-hitting guitar style and gentle nature left a lasting impression on Tanya when the two first met at her friend’s wedding in 1987. It didn’t take long before his signature deep voice, exhibited in subsequent phone conversations, began to win over her heart, she said.
“He was a very good guitar player, but also very gentle, sweet, kind and nice,” she said. “When I talked to him on the phone, his voice was just so comforting and friendly.”
Following their marriage in 1989, the couple eventually settled in Wichita, where Sandy was tapped to serve as disc jockey at T95, Wichita’s premiere rock station at the time. He garnered several awards at the station, voicing and editing commercials while serving as the station’s production director.
It was during this time he and Tanya founded their band “Exit Stage Left,” which eventually morphed into “Ten Day Wish” — an anagram of Sandy’s name. “We did a lot of cool things,” Tanya said. “We opened for a lot of bands — Pat Benatar, Blue Oyster Cult, and Robin Trower to name a few — and met a lot of famous people.”
Another entertainer who crossed paths with them was actor and musician Gary Busey, known for his starring role in “The Buddy Holly Story.” Busey recruited Ten Day Wish as backing band for his performance in the Tallgrass Film Festival following the release of the film in 1978. He would later join them onstage for an unexpected reunion appearance in Wichita, where he borrowed Sandy’s black hollow Drop Top Anderson guitar for the performance. Sandy’s go-to instrument in later years, the unique guitar featured the couple’s anniversary date as its serial number.
His love of cats and dogs kept the family’s home filled with pets for most of their married life. According to Tanya, her husband counted dog walking among his favorite daily activities.
“He was very compassionate about animals,” she said.
The feeling was clearly mutual: “We adopted the sweetest dog in the world — our corgi mix, Sandy Dog — about 12 years ago,” she said. “She died just two weeks after Sandy died.”
Appropriately, recordings made by Sandy in his home studio were among songs featured at his memorial service, Tanya said.
“He did many recordings of different songs at home, things he wrote and produced,” she said. “When we first met, he recorded me singing an a cappella version of ‘Amazing Grace.’ We used that and four of his instrumentals at his memorial service. Not everyone knew that side of Sandy.”