Dale LeRoy Wilhelm

Dale L. Wilhelm died on April 8, 2016 at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio after a valiant 25-year battle with heart disease. The beloved only child of Emma and Louie Wilhelm, he was born on the family farm east of Greenview, Illinois on June 20, 1926. Dale's education started in one-room Hedgerow Elementary School and continued at Greenview High School with graduation in 1944. He entered military service in February 1945 and served in the Philippines and occupied Japan. Following honorable discharge in December 1946, he enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1947 and received his BS in chemistry in 1951. Dale married the love of his life, Norma Mathews, that year and entered graduate school at the University of Tennessee. He was granted a MS in chemistry in 1952 and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1954, conducting research in inorganic and nuclear chemistry. He went on to serve on the faculties of West Virginia University, Cornell College, and Ohio Northern University, retiring as Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1991. He held offices in the American Chemical Society, the Society of the Sigma Xi, and Phi Lambda Upsilon. Dale was devoted to community service, focusing on literacy and education-related programs. In his active retirement years in Columbus, Ohio, he volunteered with "I Know I Can", adult literacy agencies, COSI (Center of Science and Industry), NNEMAP (Near Northside Emergency Material Assistance Program), local and national political action groups, and Trinity United Methodist Church. Dale's cherished wife of 65 years, Norma, survives along with their children, Teresa and George Weiner, Laura Roberts and Gary Stewart, Hoyte and Terri Wilhelm, and Kyle and Jennifer Wilhelm. His legacy lives on in them, as well as his grandchildren, Lindsay, Dale and Jessica, Luke and Jamie, Aaron, Daniel and Nimarta, Eric, Miriam and Dylan, Julia and Jeremy, Megan, Heidi and Kyle, Nathan and Heidi, Timothy, Brandon; great-grandchild, Alexander and twins to be born this spring. Also surviving are his brother-in-law, John Mathews; aunt, Norma Miller, many cousins, and countless friends. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, 2016 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1581 Cambridge Boulevard, Columbus, Ohio. Inurnment will be in Elmwood Cemetery, Greenview, Illinois during a private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio, or, the Dale and Norma Wilhelm Scholarship Fund at Ohio Northern University, or the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign.