Curtis "Curt" R. Wilhelm

Curtis “Curt” R. Wilhelm, born October 20, 1931 in Comanche, Texas, passed away Tuesday March 1, 2022 at the age of 90.

Curt is preceded in death by his parents, Anderson Wilhelm and Mary Jane Pettijohn; his first wife, Carol Wilhelm; and his sisters, Wanda Faye Frix and Rosemary Falls.

Left to treasure Curt’s memory is his wife, Sue Wilhelm; his children, Alan Wilhelm, Lisa Ansely, Hunter Wilhelm (Amy), Cindy Thorman (David), and Pam McGee (Alan); his grandchildren, Cherith Fenton, Melissa Michalk, Grace Ann Wilhelm, Lauren Wilhelm, Marie Wilhelm, Sarah Ryan, Hunter Wilhelm, Houston Wilhelm, Carla Hughes (Tony), Shayna Shield, Brandi Villarreal (A.J.), Sami Thorman, Blane McGee; his great-grandchildren, Tristan Helstrom, Zane Bailey, Jack and Charlotte Hughes, and Sofia and Ryman Villarreal. Curt is also survived by his nieces, Kimberley Kimberlin, Kerry Gray, and Jacque Petta; nephews, David and Jim Petta, and Ryan Falls, along with their families; his sister, Patsy Lou Mears, and his aunt, Lillian Wilhelm.

After graduating from Comanche High School, Curt attended San Angelo College (now Angelo State University) for two years. He then went on to graduate from Texas A & M University with a Bachelor of Science in Entomology in 1955.

In 1957, he moved to the Rio Grande Valley and was employed by Mission Brand Chemical Company. After two years there, he opened his own independent entomology consulting service. Curt spent his entire career as a consultant for crops such as grain, sugar cane, and vegetables. However, his primary focus was helping Valley farmers produce better cotton crops. He made many friends across the cotton belt and enjoyed organizing and participating in the National Association of Independent Crop Consultants as well as the Texas Association of Agricultural Consultants.

In 1977 and 1978, Curt served as president of the Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council and, in 1989, he was recognized as Consultant of the Year.

He enjoyed traveling to many agricultural industry events especially enjoying Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Florida, and Australia. He retired in 2010 after dedicating over 46 years to helping Valley growers produce a crop.

Some of his fondest memories were of sharing stories with a friend at their farm shop or of standing in a field turnrow enjoying a freshly picked watermelon. In his later years, Curt often shared those same stories with the coffee crew on weekday mornings.

Curt enjoyed many hobbies such as flying, gardening, golfing, and bee keeping, but hunting and fishing were his passion. He taught many family members and friends a few “Indian tricks” through the years. He always found time to squeeze in a fishing trip or chase a hog or nilgai and will forever be indebted to those who accompanied him and/or allowed him hunting access. He had many friends and enjoyed sharing jars of honey, freshly grown tomatoes, and his deer jerky with them. Frying up fish for his friends always brought him joy.

Curt was a great father, friend, and mentor; he will be dearly missed.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff of Valley View Senior Living for their care and assistance in making Curt comfortable during the last four years.

A memorial service will take place at Buck Ashcraft San Benito Funeral home on Saturday, March 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. with a celebration of Curt’s life to follow at La Playa Mexican Café in Harlingen.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) in Curt’s honor.