Dr. Julian Wyatt
Nancy Stutman
Dr. Julian Wyatt, retired Navy Lieutenant Commander and author of Becoming Jewish, will be the featured speaker at the Jewish War Veterans Copper State Post 619 Installation Luncheon on Sunday, March 16. This event, chaired by Bety Dar, will take place in the new Oakwood Country Club Recreation Center, 24218 S. Oakwood Blvd. in Sun Lakes.
The 2025-26 board will be installed, and members will be honored. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. with a seated, hot lunch served, beginning at noon.
The featured speaker is newly elected Post 619 Commander Julian Wyatt, a native of Worcester, Mass. He served 30 years in the U.S. Navy from 1980 to 2010. His highest military award was the Bronze Star from his combat tour in Iraq 2007-2008.
“After formal education at a parochial school, I became a nomad and studied various faiths and traditions. I fell in love with the self-help teachings of Mussar (Jewish practice of moral conduct, instruction, or discipline) and the Kabbalah. That’s where everything began.” explains Julian.
Jules, as he prefers to be addressed, sought out a local synagogue after visiting Haifa, Israel, in 1979. He became a Jew by choice in 2007 and a Bar Mitzvah in 2010. His vision quest is described in his book Becoming Jewish, which is available on Amazon.
Jules will speak about his 30 years in the U.S. Navy and how both his military and civilian colleagues embraced him with open arms when he became Jewish.
Oftentimes, he was the senior Jewish person at a duty station or ship and became the Jewish lay leader. “Basically, I held all worship services and worked closely with our chaplains for emergencies and deaths,” explains Jules.
During his last few months in the International Combat Zone, Jules describes his service as the lay leader for B’nai Baghdad as the duty, honor, and privilege of a lifetime.
Back home in 2016, Jules began the Prison Yoga Project Phoenix detachment as a way of helping to reduce recidivism and give incarcerated people tools of yoga and meditation to navigate stress, anxiety, and depression.
He currently works for a nonprofit called Mindfulness First in Scottsdale, Ariz. The organization goes into schools and teaches mindfulness to children and staff in K-12 schools.
Also, as a certified health and life coach, this multi-talented man helps veterans and their families with posttraumatic stress disorder and reintegration back into civilian life.
“I believe strongly that if you have a gift, you must find a way to serve others. Every day I live Tikkun Olam [the Jewish concept of ‘repairing the world’],” claims Jules proudly.
Registration for the seated, hot lunch is $40 each. Those wishing to have a table reserved for up to six people, send one check made out to JWV Post 619 and mail to Bety Dar, 25827 S. Greencastle Drive, Sun Lakes, AZ 85248, listing all names of those to be seated together. Otherwise, you will be seated by the committee. Deadline for response is March 8. Reservations after that date will be put on a waiting list.