Friends, family mourn UI grad

Matt Wilhelm, University alumnus, died early on the morning of Sept. 8 after being struck by an automobile while he was riding his bicycle on Sept. 2.

Matt was born March 20, 1981, at Carle Hospital in Urbana to Charles Wilhelm and Gloria Shivers Wilhelm. He held a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering with minors in mathematics and technology-and-management with a 3.97 GPA; and in May 2006, successfully completed his masters degree in mechanical engineering at the University.

He was an active participant in Campus Crusade for Christ, which is where Kevin Elliott, junior in LAS, first got acquainted with Matt.

"It was just incredible to me how incredibly joyful and cheerful he was, I was just amazed at how happy he was to meet me, and it really makes you feel welcome," Elliott said.

Wilhelm enjoyed biking, mountain hiking, spelunking and backpacking. He often initiated and organized these trips to share experiences with friends.

"I remember we went spelunking a few times, and it was just a really fun experience, because it took a few hours to get (to) the cave and so we were all joking around, and we all got to experience some cave exploring, which I would never had done, had it not been for Matt," said Eric Gertner, graduate student and Matt's grade school friend.

His most distinguished honors included a Chancellor's Scholar, James Scholar, American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Outstanding Junior Award, a member of Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma, Senior 100 honorary and the KH Korst Award in 2004, but the most notable was the Bronze Tablet award Matt won in 2004 for mechanical engineering, an honor given to the top 3 percent of a graduating class.

Matt's adoration for the math and science subject matter was apparent as far back as third grade, Gloria Wilhelm said.

"He grabbed his brother's eighth grade algebra book, and said, 'Oh this looks like a lot more fun than what I'm doing,' so he sat down and tried to do algebra problems," she said.

Matt excelled through elementary school and at University Laboratory High School, in Urbana, where he shined both academically and athletically.

A memorial service was held last Wednesday at the Twin City Bible Church, in Urbana, organized by Campus Crusade for Christ in recognition and celebration of Matt's life, achievements and the impact that he had on the University and local communities. A cheerful commemoration of Matt's life reminded all of those in attendance that it was indeed a time to celebrate.

"The celebration was pretty incredible, particularly how many people were there and those who were really close to him shared stories about Matt, his personality and the joy that he brought to each of their lives," Elliott said.