Thomas Wilds

Thomas J. Wilds NEWPORT NEWS - Thomas J. Wilds died Oct. 19, 2009. A native of Marshall, N.C., he had been a Peninsula resident since 1941. We have lost yet another member of "America's Greatest Generation," who survived the Depression and saw us through World War II. He enlisted in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in May 1936, and was honorably discharged in August 1939. Mr. Wilds retired from supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, U.S. Navy in 1982 after 36 years of service. He was a sales associate for Teagle Realty and Cale Realty for 26 years. He also was a certified residential real estate appraiser. He was a member of Temple Baptist Church, where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees, an usher, Sunday school director, and a deacon. He was a Past Master of Mariner Lodge No. 215 A.F. & A.M. He was also a member of Bremond Lodge No. 241 A.F. & A.M., Warwick Royal Arch Chapter No. 80, Hampton Commandery No. 17, Scottish Rite Bodies of Newport News and Khedive Shrine Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S. of Chesapeake. He was past president of the Peninsula Shrine Club. He was also a member of the Chesapeake Shrine Club. He was the chairman of the fundraising crusade for the Shriners Hospitals for Children for five years. He was also a member of the Order of Quetzalcoatl, Teocali No. 117, Chesapeake. He was a Life Member of Newport News Elks Lodge No. 315 of Newport News. He also was the chairman of the Elks Boys Camp Committee for underprivileged boys for many years. He was past president of the Seafarer's Toastmasters Club. He was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan since their inception in 1960. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Edith Glenn Blanks Wilds; and his stepdaughter, Barbara Beck Carter. Survivors include his wife, Thelma Bradshaw Wilds; sisters, Aline Wilds and Juanita Brown; three brothers, Conley, Robert and Elzie Wilds; grandchildren, Sherry Hunt King and her husband Jim, Paula Donnally and her husband Curtis, Eddie Bradshaw, Chase, Drew and Elise Felland; great-grandchildren, Lindsey Milliman and her husband Tim, Allen King, Katlyn and Daniel Donnally; great-great-granddaughter, Isabella Milliman; and two stepchildren, Wayne Bradshaw and his wife Deanie, and Susan Felland and her husband Jim. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today, Oct. 22, at Peninsula Funeral Home. A funeral will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at Temple Baptist Church, officiated by the Rev. D. Lynn Hardaway, followed by graveside services with Masonic Rites, conducted by Bremond Lodge No. 241, in Peninsula Memorial Park. The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to any of the following: Temple Baptist Church, 235 Harpersville Road, Newport News, VA 23601; Newport News Scottish Rite Building Fund, 65 Saunders Road, Newport News, VA 23601; or for Shriners Hospitals for Children, Khedive Shrine Temple, 645 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23320.