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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly SP '64
Robert Seedorf Wilson No.15928 Class
of 1946 Died 26 July 1963 at the VA Hospital In Eismere,
Delaware, aged 39 years . Interment: Gracetown Memorial Park,
Wilmington, Delaware. |
Those of us who knew Bob Wilson are fortunate indeed. Here was
a rare individual, a blend of so many of the qualities men aspire
to, yet so seldom find combined in a single personality.
Bob had vitality, enthusiasm, a boundless zest for life in
all its goodness. He crowded a maximum into his thirty-nine years:
success in his chosen professions-military and civilian, a warm
devotion to his splendid family, and complete enjoyment of a
wide variety of interests.
As a schoolboy he developed a fondness for athletics, starring
in football at Tower Hill School in his home town of Wilmington,
Delaware, and later in baseball at the University of Delaware.
Whatever he may have lacked in size, he more than made up for
it in speed, coordination, and determination. At West Point his
sports were soccer and baseball.
After graduation in 1946, Bob earned his B.S. degree in aeronautical
engineering, and took his jet pilot training at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base. In the Korean War, his was a brilliant record
involving a hundred combat missions. His decorations include
the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with seven
Oak Leaf Clusters.
Bob combined personal integrity with the highest standards
of behavior and performance. In 1956 be was retired from the
Air Force, and became a successful consulting engineer in systems
development, with the DuPont Company in Wilmington. His warm
personality made him popular with his business associates, and
he was a respected community leader through his church, Rotary
Club, and other civic organizations. His attractive family was
a source of great pride to him-Ruth, whom he had married in 1946,
and their three charming daughters, Erica, 15, Deborrah, 13,
and Cynthia, 11. He found such enjoyment in life-had a passion
for living-loved his family, his home, his work, his friends.
His hobbies and interests were unlimited-sports, gardening, music,
travel, books--always the best.
There was one trait, however, which over the years proved
to be Bob's most outstanding--courage. He was a fighter by instinct
as well as by training, so when he learned that he had a serious
disease, he accepted the challenge with a fierce determination
to win. The battle was a long one, nearly eight years, but through
it all his optimism was unbelievable. When the news was good,
he was grateful and full of plans; when it was discouraging he
had a way of gathering his energy and forging ahead with renewed
hope and an unfaltering faith. His sense of humor cheered everyone
around him and he maintained an active interest in others right
to the end.
Bob died on 26 July 1963, the battle
over at last. In a very real sense, the final victory was truly
his, for his unconquerable spirit lives on to inspire all who
were touched by it.
He leaves his faithful wife, Ruth, a nurse, who was ever at
his side sharing his life and every crisis. His daughters reflect
the sincere enthusiasm for life that gave his years such purpose.
Theirs is a proud heritage. His parents, his two brothers, and
his many friends will never forget the example he set for all
of us-for here indeed was a complete man.
Two Friends
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