Joseph Wilhelm Obituary

Joseph Anthony Wilhelm III

Northampton, MA — JOSEPH ANTHONY WILHELM III, born August 3, 1946 in the Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, died peacefully at Springfield Baystate Medical Center. He was the son of Joseph A. Wilhelm Jr. and Maxine Moore Wilhelm.

Raised through childhood in New Orleans, he earned his Juris Doctor from Tulane University in 1970. He met his wife of 51 years, Phyllis Jacoby Wilhelm, at the Tulane Newman Club when they were students. Shortly after they were married, he reported to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio where he was stationed with Phyllis for the four years of his active duty (1970-1974). He served as a Judge Advocate, and following active service, he was in the United States Air Force Reserves until he retired as a Colonel in 2001. As a Reservist, he was called back to active duty for 6 weeks during Desert Storm. He served at Hanscom AFB for many years, and the Air Force Inspection Agency in Albuquerque, NM. People will remember him as a kind, peaceable man who believed that serving his country was an obligation concurrent with the rights of democracy.

At Wright-Patterson, he met another Judge Advocate, Arthur J. King from Massachusetts, striking up a friendship that would bring them to Northampton to set up a private law practice in 1974 specializing in real estate, small business advice, and taxation.

Additional education included Central Michigan University, Master of Arts, Personnel Administration, 1974, the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Master of Arts, History, 1986, and the Air University, Air War College, 1993.

Funny and smart, his clients and friends loved him. He was always willing to serve on committees and in elected positions. While living in Williamsburg, he served as Water Commissioner, Selectman for 6 years, on the Hampshire County Charter Commission, and on the Hampshire County Commission, including as First Chairman. After moving to Northampton, he was elected again to the Hampshire County Commission and to the Hampshire County Retirement Board. He was a member of the Democratic Committee of Williamsburg, and again in Northampton where he received the Democrat of the Year Award in 2004. He was a delegate to numerous Massachusetts Democratic conventions. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Hilltown Co-operative Charter School, the Board of Trustees of Historic Northampton, and the Board of Trustees of the Cummington Community of the Arts. He was a longtime member of the Northampton Lions, serving as President and receiving the Melvin Jones Fellow Award for Humanitarian Services from the Lions Club International Foundation.

After retiring from the practice of law in 2016, he continued his business Wilhelm Tax Preparation, not just because he liked to do taxes, which he did, but also because he enjoyed meeting with his clients and catching up on their lives over the previous year.

He will be remembered as a good man with integrity and a great sense of humor. He will be terribly missed by his wife, his sister Barbara Sterbcow and her husband Arthur, his brother Stephen, and numerous nieces and nephews on both sides of his and Phyllis' families, and by his golden retrievers. For thirty years, he religiously walked his goldens (Hoover, Arthur, Henry, George, Richard the Lionhearted, Richard II, and King Stephen) morning and evening, rarely missing a day.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton MA 01060, or to the Town of Williamsburg Arthur King Fund, P O. Box 488, Haydenville MA 01039, or to the Golden Retriever Foundation, P. O. Box 952732, St. Louis, Missouri 63195-2732. A Celebration of Life memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Ahearn Funeral Home

(413)587-0044