Obituary of William Wyatt Wilder

William Wyatt Wilder beloved husband, father and grandfather died February 4, 2012 surrounded by family and love. Bill's curiosity, kindness, gentle grace and infectiously positive outlook on life will be missed by all who knew him. He was born in Ashland, Oregon on September 16, 1924 to Claire Almond Wilder and Ethel (Mace) Wilder. In his early years he lived on Vashon Island where he learned to swim. The family lore is that his father threw him daily off the dock and swimming was the only way home. His father was, by his own admission, a “tramp printer” who traveled from job to job and town to town. After Vashon Island, his dad got work in Alaska and moved his family there, where young William learned to hunt and fish and fly planes in the early days of Alaskan bush pilots. Then, as so many young men of his generation did, he enlisted in the army in 1943 to serve his country. His enlistment took him to the South Pacific and battles including on Saipan where he was often among the first on the beach clearing enemy defenses, including setting underwater explosives to take out the enemy defenses. After he enlisted, the army sent him to the University of Nebraska for training. While there, he met an Iowa farm girl – Norma Jean Olsen – who was working in a radio factory. That started a correspondence that lasted through the war and budded into love and marriage by wars end. After their marriage in 1947, William took Norma Jean from small town Iowa farm life to settle down in his beloved Alaska. Like so many people living in Alaska at that time, William and Norma did a little bit of everything to provide for their community in Juneau. They owned a fishing boat, a record store and a newspaper before William began working for Alaska's Unemployment Commission and Norma to the U.S. Forest Service. After seven years of marriage, Bill and Norma were blessed with a daughter, Carol Jean. Then one day while Bill was skeet shooting with some friends he was hit by one of the pigeons and seriously injured, he lost an eye. The injury would require medical care that wasn't available in Alaska so Bill and his family moved to Seattle. He used the printing skills he had inherited from his father and refined at the Juneau Star, which he owned, to get a job at the Seattle Times as a printer. He worked there for 32 years while raising a family that now included two boys as well, Richard Claire and Warren William. Bill taught his children by example how to live honorable and compassionate lives and to not be afraid of hard work. For example, they heated their house with a wooden stove and wood wants chopping – from logs, to lengths, to splits and kindling. For most people, the job of so much hard work would be overwhelming. But Bill would just put his shoulder into and turn a pile of logs into cords of fire wood and he made it seem almost like fun. The same lessons were learned in the garden where chicken manure needed to be spread before you could plant and then care for the vegetables being grown there. As you worked together, Bill would listen to his children and grandchildren as to what was going on in their lives and encourage them to consider the impact they wanted to make on the world and their loved ones. Once the vegetables were harvested, they would be shared with neighbors, the local food bank, anyone who would be blessed by fresh vegetables on their table. When Bill decided he wanted a new challenge he got into Real Estate by buying apartment buildings in Seattle's inner city, he refused to let a need to make money keep him from investing in the lives of his tenants, especially the children. He provided them with warm clothing and toys. He sometimes took them on adventures such as an afternoon matinee. He treated each person with kindness and respect regardless of how he was treated. His business venture was not a financial success – he touched more lives than money. All of this is consistent with his commitment from a young age to live an honorable life and be kind to others and that is exactly what he did. Norma Jean – his wife of 47 years – passed away in 1990 due to complications due to diabetes. The world traveling that Bill and Norma Jean loved to do in their retirement tapered off and Bill focused his time, energy and compassion on caring for his wife. After Norma Jean passed away, Bill was at a turning point in his life. He focused attention on church activities and his family. In 1993 he helped his sister Jane move from Arizona to her new job at the VA hospital in Lake City, Florida. He liked the town so much, he decided to try living there himself. And once upon a time in Lake City, while looking for a place to live he met a real estate agent, Susan Clarke, and said immediately to himself and to his sister – “I am going to marry that gal.” And so he did, but not after courting Susan for a year and a half. Susan and William were married in 1994 which gave them both a second chance to feel deep love and brought together their two families, including William’s three children and Susan’s two (Sarah Gericke and Brad Clarke). Bill and Susan soon moved back to the Pacific Northwest and settled down in Tacoma, Washington. They continued to be very involved with the lives of their children and grandchildren and in the life of their church, the University Place Presbyterian Church. Bill was preceded in death by his first wife, Norma, his parents Ethel and Claire and a brother, Dick. He is survived by his beloved wife, Susan Clarke; his sisters: Jane Pitrat and Betty Mae Ridley; his children: Carol Jean Dike (and her husband Ted), Richard Claire Wilder (and his wife Meg) and Warren William Wilder (and his wife Elizabeth) and stepchildren Bradley Clarke and SarahGericke; as well as 16 grandchildren (Dave Dike, Michelle Fields, James Dike, Ben Wilder, Justin Wilder, Mike Wilder, Will Wilder, Clara Wilder, Grant Wilder, Andy Clarke, Kaylee Clarke, Emmi Clarke, Christopher Gericke, CatieGericke, Brian Dike, and Lisa Dike) and 3 great grandchildren (Zoe, Elle, and Audrey Fields). A memorial service and celebration of Bill’s life will take place on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 1pm at: University Place Presbyterian Church 8101 27th Street West University Place, WA 98466 Donations in his memory may be made to: University Place Presbyterian Church 8101 27th Street West University Place, WA 98466 Arrangements by Edwards Memorial 253-566-1008