William Stanley Wilt

Nov. 4, 1944 — April 9, 2015 William Stanley Wilt was born to Stanley W. Wilt and Virginia O. Gehrs Wilt in Corvallis. He died with his loving wife of 47 years, Diane M. Wilt; two daughters, Kristin Wilt Dokoza and Alisha Wilt Hedberg; and sister Lesley Wilt McCann by his side in Portland on April 9. As a child, Bill belonged to the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan where he served as an acolyte, attended Roosevelt Elementary School and graduated from Corvallis High School. He attended Lewis and Clark College and then served six years in the Oregon National Guard. Bill was a member of the Corvallis Elks, Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. Along with his wife and two daughters, Bill is survived by four grandsons, Ryan and Christopher Dokoza, and William and Nolan Hedberg, as well as many loving family members and long time friends. He was preceded in death by his father Stanley; mother Virginia; and two brothers Dana and Gary. Bill embodied the entrepreneurial spirit right from the start, from his first paper route to selling tires for Chuck Wilson’s Ford Motor Company, and learning the ropes at his father’s Coburg Plywood Mill. Bill’s first enterprise along with his wife, Diane, was Inter-City Housing. After years of hard work he and Diane developed a neighborhood in Albany along with their first mobile home park, from there they expanded a housing division in Salem. Bill and the family moved to West Linn in the year 2002 where Bill continued to diversify his business adventures in commercial real estate and construction. While the love of his work filled much of his time he always found a way to enjoy his hobbies. His passions had a common theme of speed and water; he loved trains, cars, hotrods, boats, motorcycles and snowmobiles. In his youth he found great joy with his Lionel train set and enjoyed sharing this enthusiasm with his grandsons. Bill built his first motorized vehicle out of an old lawnmower engine and as a teenager raced his boat on the Willamette River in Downtown Corvallis. Through his love of fast cars came yet another business called WW Hotrods. He found himself building hotrods for friends and hotrod enthusiasts alike from all over the country. Bill was an accomplished scuba diver, which lead to his love of the ocean. This love of the ocean expanded to him becoming an avid open water fisherman. He had a commercial license and fished out of Waldport and Newport Oregon for many years. Bill designed and built several motor yachts and found great pleasure in sharing his love of boating and fishing with family and friends. Bill’s adventures found him yachting the Eastern Seaboard, Caribbean, Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean. For many years he fished the waters off Mexico up to the Alaska coastline with family and close friends. He truly was our “Old Man of the Sea.” Bill sincerely had a passion for all he pursued; he studied every detail of every project he undertook. He loved sharing his knowledge and his generous spirit found happiness in helping others achieve their goals. In lieu of flowers, please honor Bill by supporting the Benton Community Foundation/The Stanley and William Wilt Fund, P.O. Box 911, Corvallis, OR 97339; or the Boys and Girls Club, 1112 N.W. Circle Blvd., Corvallis, OR 97330. A celebration of Bill’s life will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 16, at the Church of the Good Samaritan, located at 35th and Harrison in Corvallis.

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William Stanley Wilt

November 4, 1944 - April 9, 2015