John E. Wilder

Graveside services will be held on Friday, August 8, 2008 at 11 am at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield for John E. Wilder. Arrangements are by the Gray Funeral Home, Westfield.
Mr. Wilder, 90, died on Monday, August 4, 2008 at The Francis E. Parker Memorial Home in New Brunswick. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and has resided in Westfield since 1953.
Mr. Wilder was a graduate of Manhattan College obtaining a degree in Electrical Engineering. At the outbreak of World War II, Mr. Wilder attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. He later received his commission and rose to the rank of Lieutenant.
He received advanced training at Bowdoin College and MIT in Radar and electronic warfare before serving on the aircraft carrier CVE101 in the South Pacific.
After the war he worked for Western Electric and the Bell System for 40 years where he was a project manager on the DEW line which was the early warning radar system in Canada and Alaska. It was designed to protect the United States against a Soviet attack over the pole. He also assisted on the White Alice project which was the Air Force communications network. This was the first microwave communication system that is still in use today across the nation.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Anne and his children, Edwin, Robert and Adrienne Reid. He will also be deeply missed by his sister, Margaret Davies and his three grandchildren.
In lieu of flower donations may be made to the Westfield Rescue Squad.