The funeral for Dr. Guy Bentley Wilder Jr., 81, of Decatur, was Thurs., March 19, 2009, at Decatur’s First Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Bill Hurt officiating and Roselawn Funeral Home directing. A private family graveside service followed at Roselawn Cemetery.
Dr. Wilder died Mon., March 16, at Decatur General Hospital. He was born Aug. 5, 1927, in Andalusia to Mary C. Ray and Guy Bentley Wilder Sr. He was a graduate of Andalusia High School and served in the U.S. Navy. He was a graduate of The University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 1955, he graduated from The University of Alabama Medical School. Dr. Wilder came to Decatur in 1962, where he practiced medicine for more than 40 years. He was an active member of First Baptist Church and his community.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Rebecca Merrill Wilder; two daughters, Virginia Wilder Adams of Birmingham and Frances Wilder Adams of Decatur; two sons, Guy Bentley Wilder III and Richard Merrill Wilder, both of Decatur; two sisters, Evelyn Wilder Anderson of Destin, Fla., and Polly Wilder Waits of Andalusia; two granddaughters, Elizabeth Hines Barrineau of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Catherine Rebecca Adams of Birmingham; six grandsons, Christopher S. Hines of Birmingham, Guy Bentley Wilder IV of Jacksonville, Fla., Webster Giles Wilder of Mobile, Richard Paull Wilder, Charles Lucien Adams III and William Knox Wilder, all of Decatur; and three great-grandchildren, Joseph Wilder Hines and Merrill Wilkes Hines, both of Birmingham, and Catherine Elizabeth Barrineau of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Grandsons will serve as pallbearers.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church or Decatur Heritage Christian Academy Building Fund.