Obituary of Warren E Wilhide, Sr.
Warren E. Wilhide, Sr. passed away on November 19, 2020. He was 88 years old. Born on a farm in Westminster, MD during the Great Depression in 1931, to parents Calvin, Sr. and Virginia Wilhide, Warren and his family moved to Baltimore, MD, where he attended and graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic High School.
At 19 years old, Warren joined the United States Army with his best friend, Rollo, and they were stationed in Korea in 1951. During their tour, Warren delivered supplies from the air base in Chunchon to the troops on the front lines (sometimes in extreme winter conditions). When Warren returned to Baltimore on a military plane, it crashed after dropping him off, killing all on board. On Warren’s rotation back to the U.S., he was assigned to an anti-aircraft battery defending the White House and the Capital in Washington, D.C. until his honorable discharge.
Warren used the GI Bill to attend Johns Hopkins University’s School of Engineering and he graduated in 1958. To supplement his income at college, Warren worked part-time jobs at a local TV station (ABC-WJZ) doing promotional work as King Kong, the Gray Ghost and Mr. X. As a hobby, he enjoyed hiking the Appalachian Trail (Maryland & Virginia), color photography, and reading to “persons with disabilities.”
After receiving his graduation diploma from Dwight Eisenhower in 1958, Warren married the love of his life, Carol (Rollo’s sister). They honeymooned in Saint Thomas, built a house in Maryland, started a family, and later moved to New Jersey. They were married for 50 years, and inseparable until Carol’s passing from cancer in 2008. They enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, traveling the world, and spending quality time with family and friends in Maryland & New Jersey.
During Warren’s professional career, he worked at various companies including Booz Allen & Hamilton, Quantum, Golightly, WR Grace, AT&T, and Western Electric before starting his own consulting business, Warren & Associates.
Warren traced his family roots back to Schwaigern, Germany and visited the local church in town to confirm his findings. He traveled on the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Russia & Mongolia to China. Warren took a high-altitude pressurized train across the mountains in China to Lhasa, Tibet. In Barrow, Alaska (Utqiagvik), he is a member of the Polar Bear Club for swimming in the ice-cold Arctic Ocean. Warren met with Senior Executives at work one day and flew to Dharamsala with the Dali Lama another day. Johns Hopkins presented him with the prestigious “Heritage Award” where he was highly active in the Alumni Association and always looked forward to the annual Homecoming Reunions.
Wherever Warren went, especially to many of the places he planned to go with Carol, he would take a photo of them together for a selfie picture, and update his annual Christmas Card.
Warren was a hard-working, generous man with much energy. Warren volunteered in Haiti (as the first relief group following the Earthquake), Morocco (Children’s Hospital), and Kilimanjaro (Teacher of Math and English for a classroom of 28 students). On many of these volunteer trips, Warren was known for performing his famous “Thumb Trick” to brighten the day and bring a smile to many under difficult situations. He was active in the Korean War Veterans group and supported the “Korean Veterans Memorial Highway” (by maintaining the blue signs on Route 287 with American & Korean flags). Warren was invited to join his fellow Veterans in South Korea for the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War. At these events, Warren received various honors for his Service and the donation of his color slides to the Sejong University. Warren was interviewed in Korea by many News organizations and his color pictures during the war were on the front page of the local newspapers. Warren was also active at his church, Hilltop Presbyterian, in Mendham, N.J.
One of Warren’s favorite movies, was “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” This was shown at his home on many New Year’s Eve celebrations, that generated much laughter with family and friends to ring in the New Year with Auld Lang Syne - as all reflected on the old times and the good times to come.
Warren planted a beautiful Norway Spruce at the entrance to the Hilltop Church Cemetery as a special tribute to his wife Carol and to show appreciation for the Church. It is Warren’s hope that colorful “Christmas Balls” can be hung on the tree throughout the year to honor the memory of many loved ones buried in the Cemetery.
Warren is predeceased by his loving wife, Carol Wilhide, and is survived by his son Warren E. Wilhide, Jr. of Basking Ridge, NJ, daughters Laura and Sue, brothers Calvin Wilhide, Jr. and Paul Wilhide of MD, sisters Joyce Marschall and Janet Mergl of FL, and nine beloved grandchildren.
The visitation was held on Tuesday December 1st at 9:30am to 11am at the Bailey Funeral Home, 8 Hilltop Rd, Mendham, NJ followed by the funeral service at Hilltop Presbyterian Church, 20 Hilltop Rd, Mendham, NJ from 11am to 12pm. Interment with a Military Honors Color Guard Service to followed at Hilltop Cemetery.
If desired, in lieu of flowers, donations can be provided to Samaritans Purse in Warren's memory. Please cick here to donate.
