David Cudahy Wilhelm

1919 - 2018

David C. Wilhelm was born in Chicago, IL. Primarily, he grew up in the Chicago area but as a pre-teen attended the Arizona Desert School, which began his love of the southwest. He went on to attend Phillips Academy Andover and Yale University from which he graduated in 1942, majoring in history and participating in the ROTC. He loved athletics and was skilled at tennis, golf and polo. He became so entranced with polo that he took his beloved horse, Jolly W, to college at Yale. He served in the United States Army Air Force in World War II where he became an “ace” fighter pilot. He flew the Spitfire and P-51 airplanes during the war, service for which he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in May of 2015.

After the war David migrated west and worked initially as a rancher, leading to his primary business in the commercial cattle feeding business with feedlots at various locations on the eastern plains of Colorado.  He met his first wife Anne Jackson, a Colorado Springs native, and they had 4 children Jean, David Jr., Andy, and Peter. Anne died in 1988. Subsequently, David married Anne’s sister Jean Jackson Emery. She and her deceased first husband, John Emery, had 4 children Jake, Patrick, Charles and Anne (deceased).

David is survived by his wife, Jean; his children Jeannie Russell, David Wilhelm Jr (Marsha), Andrew Wilhelm (Sylvia), Peter Wilhelm, Jake Emery (Lisa), Patrick Emery (Cathy), Charles Emery (Edie), his thirteen grandchildren and his ten great grandchildren. He will always be an inspiration to his friends, family and all who knew him. In lieu of flowers memorials maybe made to the Denver Zoo 2300 Steele Street, Denver, CO 80205-4899 or the Denver Hospice, 501 S Cherry St, Suite 700, Denver, CO 80246 in David's honor.