Donald Lawrence Wilder, 85, of Westford, Vermont died peacefully at home surrounded by loving family members on March 30, 2016.

Born September 9, 1930, in Ware, Massachusetts, Mr. Wilder is the son of the late Joseph and Ida (Jordan) Wilder and was the youngest of four children. He graduated from Palmer High School and attended DeVry Technical School in Chicago, IL. Following graduation, he enlisted in the Air Force, where he served in Iceland and Greenland as a radar technician. After serving his country for four years, he returned to western Massachusetts to attend UMass Amherst under the GI Bill. While at UMass, he married the love of his life, Helena Duquette, and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree. Following graduation he joined General Electric, where he worked to introduce transistors in areas long dominated by tube circuitry. He left GE and joined a team of engineers at Raytheon, who had the contract to test and certify the Apollo guidance computer. Finally, he joined IBM in Burlington, Vermont, where he spent the remaining 26 years of his working career, working on computer chip memory testing. He retired in 1991 to pursue hobbies and spend time with his family.

Mr. Wilder always enjoyed music, and at eight years of age started playing the trumpet in Palmer town parades. He played trumpet and slide trombone in the Palmer High School Band and from there moved to dance bands playing in the Springfield, Mass. area and eventually ran his own band. He mastered the bugle enough to attain the award of top bugler in the USA, which would come in handy in the military. After a hiatus for a time while in the military, school, and starting a family, music again became significant in his life when he joined the Green Mountain Chorus and Lyric Theater. Following these endeavors, he spent many years directing the St. Rose of Lima Choir and a few Grand Isle County Chorus productions. He also acted and sang in many of the North Hero Village Player variety shows and even wrote the score for one of the shows.

Mr. Wilder is survived by his children: Angela of Burlington, VT, Paul (Elizabeth) of Vincennes, IN, Daniel (Beth) of Derry, NH, Terry Haron (Mark) of Springfield, NH, Bruce (Brenda) of Westford, VT, Tad (Deb) of South Hero, VT, Patrick (Diane) of Westford, VT, and Jennifer Liguori (Dan) of Essex Junction, VT; grandchildren: Sister Mary Ignatius, Kathleen, Jeffrey, Anna, Matthew, Amanda, Allen, Kevin, Danielle, Carolyn, Eric, Meghan, Samuel, Amy, Sabrina, Christopher, David, James, Dominick, Ashley, Andrew, Scott, John, and Erin; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. He also lovingly touched the lives of many foster children.

In addition to his parents and loving wife Helena, Mr. Wilder is predeceased by two sisters, Mary and Rita, and his brother Eddie.

Mr. Wilder's family would like to thank the VNA for their comfort and support.

Funeral services will be Saturday, April 9, at 11a.m. at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church on Route 2 in South Hero with interment to follow at the Grand Isle Cemetery.

Visitation will be at the Minor Funeral Home at 237 Route 7 South in Milton on Friday, April 8 from 6-9 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Visiting Nurse Association, 1110 Prim Rd, Colchester, VT 05446.