In 1944 Wideman obtained entrance to the City and Guilds section of the Imperial College in Kensington and was close to the center of London throughout the V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks.

He then spent two years performing the mandatory National Service for the British Government that was required of every male at that time.

He also spent time during this period teaching basic education subjects to enlisted soldiers in the British Army.

In November 2004 the Canadian West Coast Chapter of PMI established an independent education foundation, later named after Wideman.

[4] This was due to Wideman's donation of the proceeds of his book, 'A Framework for Project and Program Management Integration' to the Canadian West Coast Chapter.

After PMI HQ ceased selling the book in 2004 the subsequent royalties, in the amount $51,000.00, were used as the seed money to start the Wideman Education Foundation.

The foundation's mission is, "To teach, develop, promote, and encourage the use of proven, successful project management skills that are needed everyday by everyone.