Norman G. Wilder

Norman G. Wilder, 102, passed away peacefully on Wednesday November 20, 2019, at the Vermont Veterans’ Home where he had resided the past three years. The son of Edward and Hazel (Oliver) Wilder, he was born in Wakefield, MA on October 21, 1917. Mr. Wilder served his country in the Pacific Theater in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He saw action in New Guinea and the Philippines, ending his service in post-war Japan. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain having received 4 medals and citations including one for Philippines liberation. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Fish and Wildlife Management from the University of Connecticut in 1941, an undergraduate degree in Forestry from the University of New Hampshire in 1939, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Delaware State College in 1971. Mr. Wilder resided in Smyrna and then Ashland, Delaware prior to retiring to Landrun, South Carolina before relocating to be near his family in the Bennington area (1991). A lifelong conservationist, he was the first professionally-trained Director of the Delaware Fish and Game Commission, where he worked for 21 years. His many accomplishments were recognized by the naming of a wildlife preserve in his honor and the receipt of several awards including the Delaware Wildlife Federation’s Conservationist of the Year Award (1966). He then served 2 years as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control where his contributions to the Coastal and Marine Affairs Taskforce led to large areas of the Delaware coast being protected from development. In 1972 he became Director of the Delaware Nature Society for the next 11 years. He oversaw the development of a new center in Ashland and at Abbots’ Mill, worked to substantially increase membership and educational programs and mentored numerous interns. In 2009, he received the DNS Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to wildlife conservation and preservation of natural areas. Even after his retirement to South Carolina he could often be seen improving natural areas for Conserving Carolina and served as chair of their board. They, too, named a natural area in his honor. After his move to Bennington, he received the General Stark Society Award from the Bennington Museum for his work in rehabilitating the Hadwen Woods (2004). In his later years he devoted time researching his family’s genealogy and writing remembrances about his long and interesting life. While attending Bennington Project Independence he livened up the place with his singing and fine dancing. Above all he will be remembered for his interest in and commitment to family, friends, colleagues and to the future of this earth. Mr. Wilder leaves his daughters Janice Lerrigo and her husband George of North Bennington and Meredith Wilder of Bennington, granddaughter Ellen Bishop and husband Todd of Palmyra, NY, great grandchildren Emma and William Bishop, eight step-children including Berry Gower of Greenville, SC and Dick Locke of Landrum, SC, numerous step-grandchildren and their children. He was predeceased by his sister Jean Bennett, his first wife of 32 years, Elizabeth (Bette) Stephey, who died in 1975; Barbara Budd, wife of 10 years who died in 1985; Mary Allison, wife of 4 years, who died in 1990; and Ruth Locke, wife of 10 years, who died in 2001. A celebration of the life of Norman G. Wilder will be held at the Second Congregational Church on Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 2:00 p. m. Military honors will be held at the conclusion of the service. Burial will take place in the spring of 2020 in Lower Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, DE. Memorial gifts may be made to Bennington Project Independence (BPI), Vermont Veterans’ Home - Patient Activities Fund or the Delaware Nature Society in care of Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home, 213 West Main Street, Bennington, VT 05201.