Dwight William Zwick (Missoula ’55)
Posted: June 17, 2026
Dwight died January 18, 2026. He was born March 9, 1935, in Fargo, North Dakota, and lived in Texas, and California before returning to Valley City, N.D. where he graduated from high school in 1953. He earned a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of North Dakota in 1957 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1964. Dwight served in the USAF at Vandenberg AFB and was discharged in 1960 as a Captain.
“After my discharge from the Air Force, six friends and I rode from Naples, Italy, to Northern Europe and purchased a sailboat with intent to go to California. We found ourselves short of funds, so we ran cigarettes and Cognac between Northern European countries for six months until we put the boat on the rocks off an island in Northwest Germany. I decided that fun and games were over, so I applied to the Harvard Business School.
“After graduating from Harvard, I interviewed but could not get myself to take an office job, so I bought an 11,000-acre ranch in Northern Minnesota on credit. Did my best for four years but the lack of working capital forced me to sell right before they foreclosed.
“From the ranch I went to Denver and found a 40-unit apartment that I could acquire for no cash. From there I engaged in about fifty ventures of one kind or another. Occasionally one of them made a profit.
“I married a lady from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and we had two children. They grew up well and never got into any of the trouble that I experienced. My wife died in 2012. I am now living with my college sweetheart, the widow of actor Jack Elam. We live quietly and are very happy.
“I have had a wonderful life. It could not have been programed better. There have been many bumps in the road, but overall, near perfect. I loved being a smokejumper and believe that it was part of the reason that I could not take an office job.” Dwight jumped at Missoula 1955-56.
