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Harold Bostwick Wilde ’33

Harold Bostwick Wilde ’33, April 4, 2002, in Oregon. Harold briefly attended Reed, eventually graduating from the Northwestern College of Law. In 1940 he married Lenore Williamson. He served in the South Pacific as a battery and battalion commander in anti-aircraft artillery during World War II. In 1946 the couple moved to Huntsville, Alabama, to set up an East Coast manufacturing operation for the Wesix Electric Heater Company of San Francisco. In 1960 he became vice president of the company, necessitating a move to California. At Wesix Wilde was responsible for manufacturing a variety of equipment including highly specialized explosion-proof heating equipment for naval vessels and heating controls for nuclear submarines. His career with Wesix led him to the position of chairman of the board and general manager until 1972, when he created a new corporation, Harver Industries, supplying commercial heating devices throughout the U.S. He and Lenore started the Escotec Corporation, whose products assisted corkage and capping in the wine and pharmaceutical industries. The Wesix Foundation, which he formed and managed for 21 years, was medically oriented, financing a number of research projects nationwide and a fellowship in graduate study in electrical engineering at Stanford. In 1982 the foundation financed a remodel of the ICU and CCU at Seaside General Hospital in Oregon. The couple then moved to Gearhart, Oregon, where Harold became active in community projects and activities, and maintained a strong connection to the programs and facilities at Seaside General and other health care systems. He is survived by his second wife, Dorothy, whom he married in 1997, a nephew and niece, and a grandniece. His first wife predeceased him.

Appeared in Reed magazine: February 2003

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