Bob "Robert" Wilhelm

We lost our beloved Bob Wilhelm Friday, November 29, 2024, at the young age of 72. A Celebration of Bob’s life will be held Saturday, December 14, 2024, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Bob and Holly’s home on Lake Tyler. Under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. The world is a better place having had Bob in it. Bob was a man of great joy and love and faith. He was steadfast, truthful, and loyal. Bob is my knight in shining armor, my hero, my ballast, and the love of my life. All who knew Bob loved him. He brought light into everyone’s heart, filled us with joy, lived life fully and beautifully and still covers us with his compassion, love and grace every day. Robert Lowell Wilhelm was born December 16, 1951. He was born and raised in the small midwestern town of Covington, Ohio. We’ve always said he’s from good midwestern corn-fed stock and thank goodness he made his way to Denver, Colorado to find me. We have been living our dream together ever since. Bob is still famous in Covington as the hometown basketball team champion, and star baseball player; but more renowned for loving his friends and teammates and his widespread Wilhelm family. Bob and I met and married in Denver. That’s when our lives really began. We were both executives in the technology sector for most of our careers, with a couple of extraordinary sidesteps along the way. In 2004 I mentioned a job opportunity I had in Dallas. He said “Honey, I married you for better or worse, but not for Texas.” Three weeks later we moved to Dallas; with a compromise. I told him I knew of a beautiful lake deep in East Texas that he might love, and the rest is history. In 2006 we had a weekend cabin on Lake Tyler just down from my family’s lake house and quickly decided the lake would be our forever home. In 2019 we retired and moved to Tyler full time to live out our dream. Bob was a brother to my brother, a son to my mother and father, a cousin to my cousins and a dear friend to my dear friends. Bob took care of my family as if they were his own. He walked through life with a mission of caring and caring for others. He cared for me every minute of every day through the toughest of times, with love, patience, kindness, and perseverance. Bob approached every challenge with grace, humor, and wisdom. There was no problem Bob could not solve using his best self. His smart and witty sense of humor put everyone at ease while lifting their spirits. Bob was “That Guy” that everybody loved. He will be missed. Bob is survived by his wife Holly Hays Wilhelm of Whitehouse TX and brother-in-law Brian J. Hays and wife Denise of Cypress, TX. He was preceded in death by his mother Velma Heins Wilhelm, his father, Lowell Eldon Wilhelm who bravely served defending our country in World War II and his older brother Sergeant William Wilhelm who gave his life in battle defending our country in Vietnam. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org), Tunnel to Towers Foundation (https://T2T.org) or Marvin Methodist Church Music, 300 West Erwin St. Tyler 75702. A Memorial Service will also be held in Covington OH; details to be determined.

Bob "Robert" Wilhelm

December 16, 1951 - November 29, 2024