Obituary of William E Wilk

William E. Wilk, 68, of Woodland Park, died peacefully on May 15th surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Newark, NJ. Bill graduated from Morristown High School and received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from Farleigh Dickinson University. He attended Montclair State University to pursue his MBA degree. Bill began his career at Foster Wheeler Corporation followed by employment at I.T.T and then Kearfott in Woodland Park. He was East Coast Director of Operations for Windstar Aviation, a Lear Jet charter company owned by John Denver. He was also his flight coordinator and was responsible for all aspects of John’s concert tours, even joining him on these flights. Bill also toured once with Paul McCartney’s band, “Wings.” He organized chartered flights for those wanting to use John’s Lear Jet. Some of the passengers were celebrities, one of which was President Gerald Ford. While working for Mr. Denver, Bill received a letter of thanks from N.A.S.A. “for the excellent job and highly professional service rendered to NASA in supporting the first launch of the Space Shuttle from the Kennedy Space Center.” Mr. Wilk was solely responsible for seeing to it that a young girl’s final wish to meet John Denver was fulfilled. It was a heartwarming moment just witnessing her excitement when she finally met her idol. The smile on her face and her parents’ said everything. He was also employed as the Registered Municipal Clerk and Administrator for the Borough of West Paterson and The Township of Little Falls from which he recently retired. “Not only was he my boss but he was a friend to us, too,” was stated by one of his Little Falls co-workers. Many of those who worked for him could only offer praise and respect. There was no finer man: intelligent, precise, organized and in possession of the finest work ethics. He served as a Councilman for the Borough of West Paterson and served as a member of the Board of Adjustment and was a member of the Planning Board. Bill worked to upgrade and enhance equipment facilities for the West Paterson Police Department, Fire Department and DPW. Bill served for two years as President of the Passaic County Municipal Clerks’ Association. He was a member of the Executive Board for the New Jersey Intergovernmental Insurance Fund (NJIIF). He received certificates for Foundations of Risk Management and one for Intermediate Risk Management from the Public Risk Management Association. He was also awarded a certificate from the Insurance Institute of America for Public Entity Risk Management. Bill had held a private pilot’s license and flew a Cessna 150 and was a member of the Aircraft Owners’ and Pilots’ Association (AOPA). Along with flying, his other passion was golf. Once retired, he played as often as possible. Golfing with his son, Tim was when he enjoyed it the most. Bill was a devoted family man. There was absolutely nothing he would not do for his wife, children and grandchildren. His love for them was boundless as was his pride for their accomplishments. Playing in his backyard with his grandchildren and looking for turkeys and deer there were pure joy for him. Even Cisco, his daughter’s dog, received Bill’s playfulness. Bill was the devoted and loving husband of Lois Muccio. They recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. He is survived by his children Jennifer Bruce, Tim and Lisa Healey Wilk, Stefanie Wilk, and Matthew and Angie Wilk and the grandfather of Leah and Evan Wilk, Emily and Jacob Bruce and Riley Wilk. He is also survived by his brother Phillip Wilk and his wife, Linda. He was predeceased by his parents Mary and Edward Wilk. He is the son-in-law of Claire Muccio and the late Louis Muccio. He is the brother-in-law of Anthony Muccio and his wife, Lucille and sisters-in-law Jill Zangrilli and Debra Muccio He was predeceased by his brothers-in-law Robert Muccio and Mark Zangrilli and his sister-in-law Jane Muccio. Visitation will be held on Monday from 4-8pm at Santangelo Funeral Home, 635 McBride Avenue, Woodland Park. A funeral service will be offered on Tuesday at 10:30am. Cremation will be private by the request of the family. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the NJ Sharing Network. www.njsharingnetwork.org