Obituary for Carl Douglas Wilber
Carl Douglas Wilber, known best to friends and family simply as Doug, passed peacefully into the Light of Dawn on the morning of September 12th, 2022 at the age of 72. Doug embarked on his journey into what comes next from Hartford Hospital after a seemingly short, but incredibly intense battle with his failing heart. He is survived by his soulmate, MaryAnn Wilber of Morris, Connecticut; his brother Skip and his wife Pat Wilber of San Diego, California; his sister Peggee and her husband Peter Schippa of Visalia, California; his daughter Heather Meeker and her husband Scott; his son Craig and his wife Jennifer Wilber; his son Chris and his wife Kelly Wilber; and his son Cherokee Wilber. He is also survived by his grandchildren Allison Martineau, Sarah Meeker, Amelia, Morgan, and Hanna Wilber, and Christopher and Danielle Wilber; and by his great granddaughter Nora Martineau.
Doug was the son of Irving and Ruth Wilber, born to them on December 12th 1949 in Plainville, Connecticut. He graduated from Shepaug High School in 1968, and went on to join the United States Navy, where he served as Chief Mechanic on the USS Saratoga during his tour of duty in the Vietnam War. Shortly after his discharge, Doug attended Oliver Wolcot Technical School to obtain a certification for tool and die making, which became the basis for his lifelong career. He completed this course of study in half the time the course took most participants, showing not only his dedication to his chosen trade, but his passion and brilliance in the trade. Upon completing his certification in tool and die making, he completed his apprenticeship and progressed to master of his trade while employed at Torrington Special Products, when it was located in Morris, Connecticut. Following his time at TSP, he began work developing production machines and broadhead arrow designs at WASP Archery Products in Plymouth, Connecticut, where he developed various patents, several of which he owned in his own right. Doug continued to show his mind for engineering, mathematics and design at WASP Archery until the business was sold following the passing of its owner in the late 2000s. It was only after his employment at WASP that Doug was able to pursue his truest passion: gunsmithing. Doug was employed by a private individual to specifically pursue this passion, and in his time working there designed, built, and tested several distinct firearms for his employer. He fulfilled one of his dreams, that of being able to make the firearms which had for so much of his life proven to be a source of pleasure and an outlet of his genius until the COVID-19 pandemic, when he decided to retire to enjoy more time with his soulmate.
Doug was a man of many dreams and passions, many of which he revised later in life. One such dream began as he was helping a relative of his build his home in the wilds of Idaho. It was during this time that he found in himself a desire to live off the grid. Though he was not able to achieve this dream for various reasons, it was always a dearly held hope that he would be able to some day take his wife MaryAnn, and build with her a life far removed from vagaries and distractions of life lived within the bounds of population centers. As life progressed, and it became more difficult to follow that particular dream, he would often speak fondly with MaryAnn of being able to sell their house upon retirement, and travel the country, living from a motor home, and going where their whims took them. But Doug was also a man of responsibility, and so it was that this dream too, evolved. Decades of raising children, of watching his daughter of his heart, grow and meet the man who would come to be her husband, and watch as her family grew to include his grandchildren, and recently his great granddaughter were a source of great pride for him. No less so watching his eldest son follow in his footsteps in the trade of tool and die making, watching him grow into a family man, respected by the community, loved deeply by his family and friends. Doug took great pride in watching Chris find himself, excel in the plumbing trade,, find love, and father children of his own, all while facing and overcoming challenges that would make many others give up. Seeing his youngest follow another of Doug’s passions – woodworking, and through his journey of self discovery finding a closeness with Doug that neither one had thought to find. All in their own ways, Doug’s four children do their father proud, but more importantly they show the world what a wonderful, caring, and knowledgeable man he was, even if often times Doug was quiet in his pride. As is most often the case, the truest measure of the quality of a man is the legacy that he leaves behind. Doug’s legacy is in the lessons that he taught his children, quietly, subtly, but no less profoundly, as well as in the memories that he left after touching the lives of many. There were many lives that he touched more deeply than he was aware, and many more than can be mentioned here. This too, is a mark of the quality of his legacy, that he left a mark on more lives than he knew. Goodnight, Doug. To the stars, always.
In Lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692.
Doug was the son of Irving and Ruth Wilber, born to them on December 12th 1949 in Plainville, Connecticut. He graduated from Shepaug High School in 1968, and went on to join the United States Navy, where he served as Chief Mechanic on the USS Saratoga during his tour of duty in the Vietnam War. Shortly after his discharge, Doug attended Oliver Wolcot Technical School to obtain a certification for tool and die making, which became the basis for his lifelong career. He completed this course of study in half the time the course took most participants, showing not only his dedication to his chosen trade, but his passion and brilliance in the trade. Upon completing his certification in tool and die making, he completed his apprenticeship and progressed to master of his trade while employed at Torrington Special Products, when it was located in Morris, Connecticut. Following his time at TSP, he began work developing production machines and broadhead arrow designs at WASP Archery Products in Plymouth, Connecticut, where he developed various patents, several of which he owned in his own right. Doug continued to show his mind for engineering, mathematics and design at WASP Archery until the business was sold following the passing of its owner in the late 2000s. It was only after his employment at WASP that Doug was able to pursue his truest passion: gunsmithing. Doug was employed by a private individual to specifically pursue this passion, and in his time working there designed, built, and tested several distinct firearms for his employer. He fulfilled one of his dreams, that of being able to make the firearms which had for so much of his life proven to be a source of pleasure and an outlet of his genius until the COVID-19 pandemic, when he decided to retire to enjoy more time with his soulmate.
Doug was a man of many dreams and passions, many of which he revised later in life. One such dream began as he was helping a relative of his build his home in the wilds of Idaho. It was during this time that he found in himself a desire to live off the grid. Though he was not able to achieve this dream for various reasons, it was always a dearly held hope that he would be able to some day take his wife MaryAnn, and build with her a life far removed from vagaries and distractions of life lived within the bounds of population centers. As life progressed, and it became more difficult to follow that particular dream, he would often speak fondly with MaryAnn of being able to sell their house upon retirement, and travel the country, living from a motor home, and going where their whims took them. But Doug was also a man of responsibility, and so it was that this dream too, evolved. Decades of raising children, of watching his daughter of his heart, grow and meet the man who would come to be her husband, and watch as her family grew to include his grandchildren, and recently his great granddaughter were a source of great pride for him. No less so watching his eldest son follow in his footsteps in the trade of tool and die making, watching him grow into a family man, respected by the community, loved deeply by his family and friends. Doug took great pride in watching Chris find himself, excel in the plumbing trade,, find love, and father children of his own, all while facing and overcoming challenges that would make many others give up. Seeing his youngest follow another of Doug’s passions – woodworking, and through his journey of self discovery finding a closeness with Doug that neither one had thought to find. All in their own ways, Doug’s four children do their father proud, but more importantly they show the world what a wonderful, caring, and knowledgeable man he was, even if often times Doug was quiet in his pride. As is most often the case, the truest measure of the quality of a man is the legacy that he leaves behind. Doug’s legacy is in the lessons that he taught his children, quietly, subtly, but no less profoundly, as well as in the memories that he left after touching the lives of many. There were many lives that he touched more deeply than he was aware, and many more than can be mentioned here. This too, is a mark of the quality of his legacy, that he left a mark on more lives than he knew. Goodnight, Doug. To the stars, always.
In Lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692.