Jane Gilmer Wilhelm

GILMER WILHELM

Jane Gilmer Wilhelm died on March 23, 2002, in Walnut Creek, CA, where she had been living since the previous year with the family of her oldest son, Donald Wilhelm, III, of Pleasant Hill, CA.

A memorial service will be held in her memory on Saturday, May 18, at 2 p.m. at the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods Village Center, 2310 Colts Neck Rd., Reston, VA, followed by a reception at the Reston Unitarian Universalist Church. Because of limitations on seating capacity, those interested in attending should call 703-476-4500.

In accordance with her wishes, she was cremated after her death in California, and her ashes were buried in Lebanon, VA, alongside her daughter, Ellen Jane Wilhelm, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Gilmer.

Her life centered around her family, her religion, her dedication to education, and the development of Reston. She was very proud of Virginia, but struggled all her life for racial equality, especially in public schools. Reston's founding vision of an integrated community drew her to this "new town" from its beginnings in the 1960's.

She was a ubiquitous community activist in Reston, providing leadership in the Reston Unitarian Universalist Church, the Reston Interfaith Association, the Reston Community Association, the Democratic Party, the American Association of Retired Persons, the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association, and several citizens advisory committees.

She was honored with the "Best of Reston" award in 2000 by the Reston Interfaith Association and the Reston Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Wilhelm was a loyal Virginian who had also traveled the world. She was born in Norton, VA, in Wise County, on November 29, 1914. She lived in Northern Virginia for much of her life, and was a pioneer in the development of Reston, where she lived for many years.

She graduated with high honors in classics from the College of William and Mary in 1935, received a masters degree in psychology and religion from Duke University in 1937, and did graduate work at the Yale University Divinity School, Radcliffe College, and George Washington University.

She was a teacher and assistant principal at McLean, VA High School from 1954 to 1964. From 1964 to 1969, she was the first Director of Community Relations for the new town of Reston, planning educational and other community facilities. She was principal of Glaydin School in Leesburg, VA, from 1969 to 1976. She was a part-time professor of English and philosophy at the Northern Virginia Community College from 1966 to 1980, and also taught at Grinnell College in Iowa, Sullins College in Virginia, and the Georgia State College for Women.

She served as Director of Religious Education at the Rock Springs Congregational Church in Arlington, VA for three years.

Mrs. Wilhelm was a member of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute from 1961 to 1967.

Raised as a Methodist, she later became a member of the Congregational Church. In 1958 she joined All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, DC, and was a member for many years of the Reston Unitarian Universalist Church.

After she retired from full-time work in 1976, she taught philosophy and religion at the Learning in Retirement Institute of George Mason University, taught English as a second language in Reston, and mentored a tenth grade student at South Lakes High School.

She was a life member of the National Education Association, and a Fellow of the Society for Values in Higher Education since 1938.

She traveled extensively, living for a time in Burma and England, and visiting the People's Republic of China, Cuba, Italy and Greece. She also lived for periods of time with the families of all three of her sons in California, Iowa and Connecticut.

Mrs. Wilhelm is survived by a host of friends and admirers, and by her sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Beauchamp of Richmond, VA and Mrs. Ruth Huettel of Kingsport, TN; her sons, Donald Wilhelm III of Pleasant Hill, CA, Henry G. Wilhelm of Grinnell, IA, and John W. Wilhelm of Santa Barbara, CA; and by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her daughter, Ellen Jane Wilhelm, and her grandson, Donald Wilhelm, IV. endcol