Raised in Stockton, Calif., where he attended local schools, Jack Wickware graduated from the University of California in Berkeley in 1949 with a BA degree in economics. There he participated in various campus activities including class councils, was a writer for the Daily Californian and belonged to the fraternity Theta Delta Chi.

After graduation Wickware received an LLB in 1953 at Hastings College of Law, where his legal fraternity was Phi Delta Phi. Wickware practiced for a short time in Oakland and then returned to Stockton where he was a deputy district attorney from 1955 to 1956 and assistant city attorney for the city of Stockton from 1956 to 1962.

In 1962 Wickware joined the League of California Cities as assistant legal counsel where a major part of his duties was as a lobbyist in Sacramento.

Wickware began a 25-year career with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in San Francisco at its head office for the 13 western states in 1967. As vice president-counsel Wickware was in charge of the legal and governmental affairs for the company in those states.

In addition Wickware served on a number of boards including the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies; California Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations; California Business Roundtable and California Taxpayers’ Association. He also served a term as a governor’s appointee to the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.