Jack Wilhelm

Jack B. Wilhelm, 87, Bismarck, died January 6, 2008, at Medcenter One after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 AM on Thursday, January 10, at Church of St. Mary in Bismarck with Rev. Chris Kadrmas and Rev. Gene Lindemann officiating. Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetery in Bismarck. Visitation will be Wednesday from 2:00 - 9:00 PM at Parkway Funeral Service where rosary and vigil service will be held at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Jack was born on December 7, 1920, in Dickinson, ND, the son of Jacob and Rachel Matz Wilhelm. He was raised and attended school in Regent, ND. Jack joined the Civil Conservation Corp when he was 16 years old and after three years returned to Regent and finished high school. After graduating from high school, he moved to Springfield, IL, to become an air traffic controller. Jack married Frances Jacobs on September 3, 1941, in Springfield, IL. They made their home in Bismarck where he worked at the Bismarck Municipal Airport for thirty years as an air traffic controller, retiring in October of 1971 from the Federal Aviation Administration. During his years at the Bismarck Airport, he received his pilot's license and worked as a commercial pilot and aerial crop sprayer. After he retired, he started Wilhelm's Spray Service. He retired from crop spraying in 2001. Jack loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. Nothing made him happier than discovering a field full of geese or pheasants. Even before hunting season began, you could find him out scouting fields in anticipation of opening day. He is survived by his wife, Frances of Bismarck; his daughters, Rachelle Sorensen and her husband, Gary, of Sidney, MT, and Mary Sandbergen of Dunedin, FL; his son, Mark Wilhelm and his wife, Terri, of Bismarck; his three sisters, Fran Traub of Cathedral City, CA, Catherine Newby of Dickinson, ND and Jan Larson of Rocklin, CA. Under his tough exterior, Jack had one true weakness, his two grandchildren, Matthew Sandbergen of Dunedin, FL, and Hailey Wilhelm of Bismarck. He was preceded in death by his parents; four sisters and six brothers-in-law; and two brothers and sisters-in-law.

Jack Wilhelm

December 7, 1920 - January 6, 2008