Seymour Daily Tribune March 13, 2002 R.A. Wilde R.A. Wilde, 85, Bellefontaine, Ohio, died at 9:43 p.m. Saturday, March 9, 2002, at Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine. Mr. Wilde retired as manager in retail at G.C. Murphy Co. of Bellefontaine in 1972 and was a teacher’s aide at Western Elementary School for many years. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He was a former member of First Lutheran Church, served on the church council and taught Sunday school. He was former chairman of Bellefontaine City Park Board, and the tennis courts at Mary Rutan Park were named for him. He was the United States Tennis Association Citizen of the Year in 1987. He volunteered tennis lessons and worked with the Saturday Enrichment Program for many years. He became a member of the Bellefontaine High School Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Athletic Boosters started the Dutch Wilde Scholarship Fund. He received the National Community Service Award in 1986. He was a past president of the Bellefontaine Rotary Club and received the Citizen of the Year Award from the Rotary, Kiwanis and Masonic Lodge. Born July 11, 1916, in Seymour, he was a son of Albert Wilde and Lydia Droege Wilde. Survivors include a son, Ron A. Wilde, Bellefontaine, Ohio; two daughters, Cheri (Robert) Cooper, Bellefontaine, Ohio, and Tess (Mike) Linkinhoker, Hilliard, Ohio; eight grandchildren, Seth and Courtney Wilde, Nate and Erin Cooper, and John, Casey, Mandy and Micky Linkinhoker; and his former wife, Betty Wilde. He was preceded in death by two brothers and three sisters. Gene Marine will conduct services at 1 p.m. Thursday at Eichholtz Funeral Home, Bellefontaine, Ohio. Burial will be in Bellefontaine Cemetery. Military services will be conducted by the Logan County Honor Guard at the cemetery. Friends may call from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Eichholtz Funeral Home in Bellefontaine. Memorials may be given to the Dutch Wilde Scholarship Fund or Western Elementary Book Fund.