Craig Allen Wilhelm

Craig Wilhelm passed away at Kansas City Hospice House on July 8, 2023, of metastatic cancer. Craig was born December 16, 1960, in Lincoln, NE, to Don and Dianne (Schultz) Wilhelm. The family moved to Kansas City in 1968, and Craig lived the rest of his life in KC area except during college years. He was charming and funny and tried to make everyone’s day a little brighter by striking up conversations with both friends and strangers. Craig loved Kansas City and would recommend its many great venues for BBQ, music, museums, and other attractions.

Craig attended Border Star Elementary and Bingham Junior High and graduated in 1979 from Southwest High School. In high school, Craig lettered in basketball, tennis, and track, and was a member of the Sachum yearbook staff. He graduated from Central Missouri State University in 1986 with a degree in history. At CMSU, he was a member of Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity. During his college years, he also spent 4 months living in Germany with the family that previously hosted him during a high school trip. During that time, he worked at a veneer factory, traveled, and greatly improved his German vocabulary.

After college, he worked a variety of jobs including for Jackson County Parks & Recreation and in food service (Parkway 600, Dos Hombres, Nelson-Atkins, and Californos) but his favorite job of all time was managing Love Records in Westport. That job fit perfectly with his great love of music that spanned the spectrum from rock, blues, reggae, ska, soul/funk, jazz, rockabilly to classical. Craig saw hundreds of concerts, amassed a large collection of music on vinyl, CDs and tapes, and listened to favorite programs on local public radio stations. He shared music with others, whether it was getting friends to go to reggae night at the Grand Emporium or a concert at Knuckleheads, giving them a CD he thought they would like, or just talking with them about the latest releases.

Another passion was drag racing; the smell of nitro and the sound of a startup made him very happy. He went to races at the former KCIR and NHRA tracks in Topeka and around the country. He also was an avid fan of other sports, including football, soccer, hockey, boxing, horse racing and Indy Car. His favorite teams included the Chiefs, Nebraska (“cut me, I bleed red”), Mizzou, Royals and Sporting KC. For fun, he would wager $1 bets with his friends when their favorite teams were playing each other.

He was predeceased by his father Don Wilhelm and his sister Gretchen Wilhelm McCabe.

He is survived by his partner, Teresa Shock, of Kansas City, his mother Dianne Wilhelm of Bonita Springs, FL, nephew Jonathon (Jack) McCabe and niece Emmeline McCabe (both of Kansas City), aunts, uncle, cousins, and many lifelong friends.

The family appreciates the care given to Craig by his medical providers, Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care, and his Visiting Angels caregivers.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Craig’s memory to KC CARE Health System (Attention: Donations, 3515 Broadway, Kansas City MO 64111), KKFI 90.1FM (PO Box 32250, Kansas City, MO 64171) or to the Missouri Department of Conservation (Attention: Donations, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180).

Celebration of Life ceremony will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 22, 2023 at McGilley State Line Chapel.