Obituary of Wilmer Wilke

It is with great sadness that the family of Wilmer Allan Wilke announce his sudden passing on August 10, 2025.   He was 82 years old at the time of his death.  Wilmer went on to be with his wife Brenda in heaven who passed away only a few months earlier on April 12, 2025. Wilmer will be greatly missed by his daughter Angie (Ralf), son Joel (Evelyn), son Mark (Candice); grandchildren - Nicole, Justin, Bridget, Sloane and Dylan; sister Myrtle Bromley (John); brother Elmer (Vikki), and many nieces, nephews and cousins; his good friend Dave Brown from the Kanata Baptist church, and his retired Nortel engineering buddies.  Wilmer was predeceased by his parents, Otto and Lila, and brother Gordon (Vera) and sister-in-law Libby Barrett (George).

Wilmer was born in Eganville, Ontario on the Wilke family farm on February 24, 1943.  He grew up around many cousins who lived nearby and enjoyed life on the farm where he learned to garden from his mother, and acquired his mechanical skills of how to repair things for the house and farm from his father.  After he graduated from the University of Waterloo in Electrical Engineering, he moved to Montreal, Quebec to start his engineering career with Bell Northern (Nortel).  He met his wife Brenda in Jekyll Island, Georgia in his mid twenties.  Wilmer convinced Brenda to follow him to Canada from the States.   They married within the year in 1967 and had their first child Angie the following year in Montreal.  As a young family, they moved to Ottawa, Ontario in 1970 and bought their first home in the east end of Ottawa.   Once settled in Ottawa, they had 2 more children, sons Joel and Mark within the next decade.

Wilmer’s farm roots stayed with him during the course of his life as he grew many types of vegetables in the summer months in his backyard, so his family could enjoy homegrown vegetables year-round.  His canned dill pickles were a family favourite and his homemade salsa was always around for family and friends to enjoy.  He also loved to cook and prepared wonderful dishes from breakfast crepes and pancakes to skillet dinners or crockpot stews and chilis.  He was also well known by family and friends that he could repair just about anything, so he was sought out often for help with home repairs.

Besides being a loving husband, father/grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, Wilmer developed many hobbies over the years that included building his own custom home in Carp, Ontario and designing furniture he proudly displayed in his home.   His woodworking projects included building wooden rocking horses for his grandchildren and building dining room cabinets that included a built-in fireplace mantel for his home.  Once he retired, he spent time everyday composing gospel music on his computer as well as researching scripture through his own self guided bible studies over the years.  He had a great passion for learning more of the nature of God from the stories in the bible.  He wrote a number of unpublished bible themed books and research papers from his love of scripture.  He also wrote many family recipe books originating from family favourite recipes and from new recipes he enjoyed sharing.  Wilmer also didn’t shy away from tough topics and enjoyed a good debate with others.  Over the years, he enjoyed hosting in his home with his wife Brenda, large groups of people for BBQs and potlucks, inviting neighbours, friends and family.  His social activities included 25 years of square dancing with his wife Brenda. Wilmer also met regularly with his retired engineering work group since the group retired over 25 years ago.

Those who knew Wilmer will remember him for his honesty, his fiercely protective nature of his family and sincere heart for God.  Wilmer showed genuine love through his acts of service to others.  He was always willing to help others whether it was to repair a broken kitchen appliance or help with a household move, a drive to medical appointments or a ride to church.  He demonstrated his love language of acts of service through his actions and efforts. He always said yes to a need for helping others.   After Wilmer retired from Nortel, he volunteered with a fishing group in Carleton Place that took kids with special needs fishing in the summer months.  He enjoyed teaching the kids how to fish.

Wilmer made a remarkable recovery from stage 4 cancer 8 years ago and remained cancer free up to his recent death.  He overcame many health issues later in life including diabetes and showed others that God has the final say on healing and recovery from serious health issues.

His children remember him for his wisdom on life and that he led a life that demonstrated that God will protect, bless and give grace to those who trust in Him (Jesus).  

Wilmer’s legacy is one of resiliency, faith, service, and love for others. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. 

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