Obituary of William Wild

William Wild ("Bill"), 86, of State College, PA, died at home on Saturday, March 18, 2023, surrounded by his loving family.

Born April 18, 1936, in Philipsburg, PA, to the late Carl W. Wild and Bessie M. Stere. On March 21, 1959, he married Mary Jane Clark, who survives. They were just three days shy of celebrating their 64th wedding anniversary, the first full day of spring.

Also surviving are two daughters, Robyn Wild and her husband, Alexander Quinn, of Briarcliff Manor, NY, and Leigh Wild Plue and her husband, Bret Plue, of Littleton, CO; two grandchildren, Duncan Quinn and Gwendolyn Plue; one great-granddaughter, Savannah Quinn; his sister-in-law, Pamla Clark, of Falls Church, VA, and brother-in-law, Lowell McEwen, of Ft. Collins, CO; and several nieces and nephews. His sister, Nancy Wild, preceded him in death.

He graduated from State College High School in 1954 and from Penn State University in 1958 with a BS in Civil Engineering. Upon graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked his entire career for Clarke & Rapuano, a consulting engineering and landscape architecture firm. Some of the many projects he worked on were Calverton National Cemetery, The Bronx Zoo, Wolf Trap, Intrepid Museum, many NY parkways, and site work for the future Mario Cuomo Bridge.

He was a member of the fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi and the Civil Engineering Honor Society, Chi Epsilon.

Bill and his family lived in New York City for almost ten years before moving to the NY suburb of Briarcliff Manor, living in the same house for almost 40 years. He was a volunteer Life Member of Hook & Ladder Company 40 of the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department, including several years as an EMT on the ambulance corps. He served over a decade with the Ossining Food Pantry and was an attendee of The Briarcliff Congregational Church.

Upon retirement, Bill and Mary Jane bought his childhood home in State College designed by his father and which is on the National Register of Historic Places. He enjoyed volunteering at Faith United Church of Christ with their Penguin Packs and Out of the Cold ministries. He loved the Penn State Arboretum, whether it was taking almost daily walks through the gardens or volunteering at their many events. His love of Penn State sports included Women's Volleyball, of which he was a Booster Club member, he had season tickets for both Football and Men's Ice Hockey, and enjoyed the annual Dual Wrestling Meet. He also supported and enjoyed many local arts organizations. He was a lifelong learner, having taken dozens of courses with OLLI.

Bill was a devoted husband and father, a true Renaissance man who gardened, repaired and renovated his homes, and had a wonderful, but subtle, sense of humor. He was known as "a man of few words" and possibly the originator of the selfie. Many a person would develop a roll of film and find a grinning smile of Bill Wild on it. He will be greatly missed.

Visitation will be held from 2pm until 4pm on Friday, March 24, 2023 at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton Street, State College.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at Faith United Church of Christ, 300 E. College Ave., State College with Pastor Jes Kast officiating. Immediately following the service, a reception will be held in the church's fellowship hall. Burial will follow the reception at Pine Hall Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Arboretum at Penn State, 302 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA, 16802-3604. Or gifts can be made online at: https://raise.psu.edu/PennStateArboretum. Checks payable to: Penn State.

The family wants to thank all the nurses and nurse's aides at UPMC Hospice who took such professional and loving care of him.

Online condolences may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.