Background
Dwight Rettie was born on March 27, 1930 in New Haven, in the family of James Cardno and Lois (Morris) Rettie.
Dwight Rettie was born on March 27, 1930 in New Haven, in the family of James Cardno and Lois (Morris) Rettie.
Dwight graduated from the Haverford School in Haverford in 1948. Rettie was a 1952 graduate of Yale University with honors, and a Masters Degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1955, both in political science.
Rettie’s long career of public service spanned professional assignments in the National Park Service in 1975 – 1986, the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1966 – 1971, the office of the Secretary of the Interior in 1964 – 1966, the Bureau of Land Management in 1957 – 1963, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1963 – 1964. His entire career was spent in Washington, District of Columbia. He worked earlier in the U.S. Treasury Department and for the U.S. Forest Service in western Montana as a lookout and smokechaser during summers at college.
Rettie also served outside the government as executive director of the non-profit National Recreation and Park Association, a non-profit organization in Washington, District of Columbia, from 1971 to 1975.
He served on several boards and commissions, including that of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority of Fairfax, and was chairman of the Arlington County Public Utilities Commission.
In Morehead City and Newport, he served in various capacities since 1995 on the governing board of the Unitarian Coastal Fellowship. He was also responsible for chairing the committee credited with writing the first official Democratic Party Platform for Carteret County for 2003 – 2004.
Member national council Boy Scouts American, 1958-1962. Chairman Arlington County Public Utilities Commission, 1967-1973. Member United States Board Geographic Names, Washington, 1981-1986.
Governor board Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, Fairfax, Virginia, 1973-1981. Staff sergeant United States Army, 1952-1954.
On August 4, 1984, Dwight married Karen Ross, with whom he had four children: Stuart, Catherine, Thomas, and Jeffery.