John W. (Jr.) Wilhelm

John W. Wilhelm,  Jr. , 94, of Naples, FL passed away at Naples Community Hospital on September 25, 2021 after a brief illness. He was born in St. Louis and grew up in Summerfield, Illinois.  He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine Service during WWII.  In 1949, he married Lila Schmidt.  They were married for 53 years before Lila's death in 2002.  He was drafted into service during the Korean Conflict, was accepted to Officers' Candidate School and received a full commission.  After his military discharge, he and Lila moved to Vincennes, Indiana where he worked as an outside salesman for an electrical wholesale supplier.  He and Lila had two children, John C. (Jay), and Barbara Jean.  In 1959, he and two partners founded Valley Electric Supply in Vincennes.  John retired from the supply business in 1996, and he and Lila moved permanently to Naples, Florida.  After Lila passed away, John married Phyllis Gotschall in 2003 and they resided in Naples until her death in 2018.  During their 15 year marriage, they loved to travel and enjoyed family.  John was very active with the Boy Scouts of America, where he helped organize local troop outings, became active in local BSA government and moved up to BSA's regional government.  He was awarded the Silver Beaver Award for outstanding service, which he was very proud of.  

He is survived by his two children, John C. (Jay), in Terre Haute, Indiana and Barbara Cleeter in Plano, Texas; four grandsons, Steven Wilhelm, Alex Cleeter, Reid Cleeter, and Brett Cleeter and two great-grandsons, Lukas Wilhelm and Austin Wilhelm.

Memorial contributions may be made in John's memory to Humane Society Naples at www.hsnaples.org