Nila Lynn Wilhelm's Obituary
Nila Lynn Wilhelm of Garland, Texas, passed away on Friday, February 2, 2018 of natural causes and 90 years of a life well-lived.She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Johnnie L. Wilhelm, and her daughter Betty Wilhelm Horton. She is survived by her children, Carol Martin, Johnny (Jay) Wilhelm Jr. and wife Susan, Lisa Wilhelm Henry and husband Waights, her 8 grandchildren, Shana Horton, Kelly Montiville, Charles Russell, David Russell, Jennifer Reyna, Johnny Wilhelm III, Zachary Felder, and Kelsey Fischer as well as 6 great-grandchildren.Nila was raised in Dallas and moved to Garland in 1951 where she raised her 4 children and remained her entire life.She attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock and North Texas State University in Denton as a music major, before marrying and focusing on singing lullabies instead of arias.Nila thoroughly enjoyed serving within her community, with a heart for leading young people to reach their fullest potential. She has spent countless hours serving with a wide range of civic groups and service organizations. From leading a group of Camp Fire Girls from 2nd grade through high school, to serving with fine arts groups such as the Garland Cultural Arts Commission where she served as treasurer from 1992-1994, to the Garland Civic Theatre, where she has been a member since its inception in 1958. She held office on their Board of Directors, and was a founding member of the Act IV volunteer organization and Chairman of the Governance Committee.She was also involved with the Garland Performing Arts Center, and served 2 terms as President of the Garland Federation of Women’s Clubs. She was a lifetime member of the YWCA and served a 3-year term of the Garland Board of Directors. She also served a 2-year term on the Garland Library board.Nila was certainly a busy lady, but was continuously looking for other ways she can help make a positive impact in the world while also improving her ability to do so. She attended the Garland Citizens Police Academy and Garland Citizens Fire Academy and loved every minute of it!More than anything, she was fiercely dedicated to Kiwanis International. She joined the organization as one of the first women members. Her 30+ years with Kiwanis included serving terms in all offices at the club level, (with the exception of treasurer), including a term as President of the Garland Sunrise club. She sponsored 40+ new members into the Kiwanis organization. She attended 20 international conventions, 30 district conventions, and 10 Key Club District conventions. She was elected as Lt. Governor for the Texas/Oklahoma district and was honored with an award in 2000 as Distinguished Past Lt. Governor.Her activities with Kiwanis included a large focus on leading the youth, where she served as advisor to the Key Club at Rowlett High School, Garland High School and South Garland High School. She also played a large role in the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation, where she served as Director of the World Leadership Conference Selection and 2 years on the Texas-North Board of Directors.Most recently she became a member of the resident council at Brookdale Senior Living.She is a longtime member of LakePointe Church (formerly Lakeside Baptist), an active member of her Bible Study class and the Sanctuary Choir.Nila has certainly made a lasting impact not only on this community, but to all who knew and loved her.A celebration of Nila’s life will be held on Wednesday, February 7th at 11:00am at LakePointe Church, 9150 Garland Rd, with a procession to graveside service at Restland Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Ave. immediately following.
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