In Memoriam: Remembering Ann Wyckoff

The university and greater community mourns the passing of Ann Pigott Wyckoff, an influential, generous leader, philanthropist, friend to many, adventurer and an ardent supporter of Seattle University. She passed away on January 1, 2026, at age 98.

It is a near impossible task to summarize Wyckoff’s considerable impact on Seattle University. A Trustee Emerita, her connection to the university began with her friendship with then-president Arby Lemieux, S.J., in the 1960s. Through the decades that followed Wyckoff played an essential role in Seattle University’s evolution from a small local college to a top university.

Over the years Wyckoff became a close friend and advisor to former presidents William Sullivan, S.J., and Stephen Sundborg, S.J. From 1972 to 1981 she served on Seattle University’s Board of Regents and on the Board of Trustees from 1982 to 1998 before accepting the mantle of Trustee Emerita for the remainder of her life. In 1987, she was awarded an honorary doctorate for her extraordinary contributions and in 2008 she received the university’s highest honor, the St. Ignatius Medal.

In 2014, Wyckoff joined Father Sundborg and several members of her extended family for a 45-minute private audience with Pope Francis, which was an enduring highlight for Wyckoff, a lifelong practicing Catholic, and for all involved. 

“Ann loved Seattle University, believed in the good its students could do in their lives and treasured its Jesuit Catholic mission,” says Fr. Sundborg, Seattle University chancellor. “She was always a gracious and uplifting friend of the university. Ann insisted on the ‘P’ in her name as a member of the influential Pigott family. Seattle University has had no better friend than Ann P. Wyckoff and she will be greatly missed.”

Ann Wyckoff with Father Stephen Sundborg

For several years Wykcoff served as a director and officer of the Norcliffe Foundation, which coordinates the philanthropic activities of the Pigott family.

Many of the university’s most recognizable spaces and buildings were made possible with Wyckoff’s considerable financial support. This includes major capital projects over the past half century including the Chapel of St. Ignatius, the Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons and the Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation. Although high profile “naming” was never important to her, SU honored her by naming two spaces after her—the Ann Wyckoff Reading Room and the Wyckoff Auditorium. And her financial support will help fund the creation of a future major capital project, the Seattle University Museum of Art, which will house many of the works from the Hedreen art collection.

Ann Wyckoff at the groundbreaking for the Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons.

Outside of the university, Wyckoff provided visionary leadership and support to many of Seattle’s signature institutions, including the Seattle Art Museum where she served on the Board of Trustees and chaired the committee that oversaw the development of the Olympic Sculpture Park. 

Wyckoff was a true adventurer and explorer by nature, trekking across the globe with her husband T. Evans Wyckoff and children on expeditions that included camping in igloos on arctic ice, a three-week crossing of the USSR from east to west during the Cold War and reaching basecamp at Mt. Everest in the late 1970s. But her global travels didn’t stop there. The couple traveled to the South Pole and a decade later the North Pole and Wyckoff went flyfishing in Mongolia in the mid-1990s.

“No one had as great an influence on shaping the last 50 years of Seattle University’s history than Ann Wyckoff. Everything Ann did as a mentor, leader and benefactor moved the needle forward toward the university’s greater excellence,” says Jim Hembree, senior director of development for University Initiatives. “As a Trustee, she embodied the university’s primary, guiding value which is ‘to put the good of students first.’ Her vision and commitment contributed to the well-being and lifelong success of generations of Seattle University students.”

Ann Wykcoff’s indelible imprint on Seattle University will endure and her presence will be deeply missed.

Read more about Wyckoff’s life and legacy.