From the Raleigh "News and Observer," 9/13/1994:
"KNIGHTDALE -- Ashley Wilder, who helped put in place the foundation to turn a tiny eastern Wake hamlet into one of the county's fastest-growing towns, died Monday at 85.
Mr. Wilder served as mayor from 1962 to 1964, during which time Knightdale laid its first sewer lines. He was instrumental in founding numerous service organizations, from civic clubs to the volunteer fire department.
"He was a person who had a vision of what the town should be for its constituents," said Billy Wilder, a distant cousin who later served as mayor. "A fire department was a very important rallying point for small towns as a center for civic activity and put out an awful lot of fires. He understood that the town needed to provide things that were good for the life of the community."
Ashley Wilder ran a general merchandise store on First Avenue until the 1970s and in recent years developed a popular following among local children by always having a pocketful of hard candy to give out.
"He was known from here to the coast as the candy man," said one of his sons, Stephen Wilder. "He's given out a ton of peppermint and butterscotch. Little kids would wait for him in the back of the church to get their candy."
Mr. Wilder's list of involvements traces the development of Knightdale. To mark his 80th birthday in 1989, the Knightdale Town Council declared a day in his honor. "The citizens of Knightdale feel that their community is a better place to live because of the efforts of Ashley Wilder," the proclamation read.
He was a member and chairman of the local school board for Knightdale High School and a founding member of the Knightdale Volunteer Fire Department, which was formed in 1954. He served as an active firefighter until 1979.
"He was the last living charter member," Knightdale Fire Chief George Gupton said. "He was very community-oriented and very well-known in eastern Wake County."
As a co-founder and first president of the Knightdale Medical Society, Mr. Wilder led an effort to attract doctors and dentists to rural eastern Wake by providing office space.
He was a deacon of Knightdale Baptist Church and active on the building committee that built the new sanctuary. He was a charter president of the Knightdale Lions Club and on the board of directors of the Knightdale Exchange Club.
"He stayed very involved up until recent years," said Mayor Carl Moore of Knightdale. "His allegiance and interest was always in Knightdale."
Mr. Wilder died at Raleigh Community Hospital after developing pneumonia, his son said.
Mr. Wilder is survived by three sons: Stephen Ashley Wilder and W. Barry Wilder of Knightdale, and Landon Eaddy Wilder of High Point. His wife, Lona Mae Wilder, died in 1979.
Other survivors include a brother, Edley W. Wilder of Raleigh, and three sisters, Cassie Jones and Catherine Smith, both of Raleigh, and Alva Smith of Mechanicsville, Va.
Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Knightdale Baptist Church. Burial will be in the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive visitors today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at L. Harold Poole Funeral Home and at other times at the Wilder home at 412 Third Ave.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery beautification fund, P.O. Box 21, Knightdale, 27545."
Author: WADE RAWLINS
Edition: FINAL
Page: B1
Copyright (c) 1994 The News and Observer
"KNIGHTDALE -- Ashley Wilder, who helped put in place the foundation to turn a tiny eastern Wake hamlet into one of the county's fastest-growing towns, died Monday at 85.
Mr. Wilder served as mayor from 1962 to 1964, during which time Knightdale laid its first sewer lines. He was instrumental in founding numerous service organizations, from civic clubs to the volunteer fire department.
"He was a person who had a vision of what the town should be for its constituents," said Billy Wilder, a distant cousin who later served as mayor. "A fire department was a very important rallying point for small towns as a center for civic activity and put out an awful lot of fires. He understood that the town needed to provide things that were good for the life of the community."
Ashley Wilder ran a general merchandise store on First Avenue until the 1970s and in recent years developed a popular following among local children by always having a pocketful of hard candy to give out.
"He was known from here to the coast as the candy man," said one of his sons, Stephen Wilder. "He's given out a ton of peppermint and butterscotch. Little kids would wait for him in the back of the church to get their candy."
Mr. Wilder's list of involvements traces the development of Knightdale. To mark his 80th birthday in 1989, the Knightdale Town Council declared a day in his honor. "The citizens of Knightdale feel that their community is a better place to live because of the efforts of Ashley Wilder," the proclamation read.
He was a member and chairman of the local school board for Knightdale High School and a founding member of the Knightdale Volunteer Fire Department, which was formed in 1954. He served as an active firefighter until 1979.
"He was the last living charter member," Knightdale Fire Chief George Gupton said. "He was very community-oriented and very well-known in eastern Wake County."
As a co-founder and first president of the Knightdale Medical Society, Mr. Wilder led an effort to attract doctors and dentists to rural eastern Wake by providing office space.
He was a deacon of Knightdale Baptist Church and active on the building committee that built the new sanctuary. He was a charter president of the Knightdale Lions Club and on the board of directors of the Knightdale Exchange Club.
"He stayed very involved up until recent years," said Mayor Carl Moore of Knightdale. "His allegiance and interest was always in Knightdale."
Mr. Wilder died at Raleigh Community Hospital after developing pneumonia, his son said.
Mr. Wilder is survived by three sons: Stephen Ashley Wilder and W. Barry Wilder of Knightdale, and Landon Eaddy Wilder of High Point. His wife, Lona Mae Wilder, died in 1979.
Other survivors include a brother, Edley W. Wilder of Raleigh, and three sisters, Cassie Jones and Catherine Smith, both of Raleigh, and Alva Smith of Mechanicsville, Va.
Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Knightdale Baptist Church. Burial will be in the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive visitors today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at L. Harold Poole Funeral Home and at other times at the Wilder home at 412 Third Ave.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery beautification fund, P.O. Box 21, Knightdale, 27545."
Author: WADE RAWLINS
Edition: FINAL
Page: B1
Copyright (c) 1994 The News and Observer
From the Raleigh "News and Observer," 9/13/1994:
"KNIGHTDALE -- Ashley Wilder, who helped put in place the foundation to turn a tiny eastern Wake hamlet into one of the county's fastest-growing towns, died Monday at 85.
Mr. Wilder served as mayor from 1962 to 1964, during which time Knightdale laid its first sewer lines. He was instrumental in founding numerous service organizations, from civic clubs to the volunteer fire department.
"He was a person who had a vision of what the town should be for its constituents," said Billy Wilder, a distant cousin who later served as mayor. "A fire department was a very important rallying point for small towns as a center for civic activity and put out an awful lot of fires. He understood that the town needed to provide things that were good for the life of the community."
Ashley Wilder ran a general merchandise store on First Avenue until the 1970s and in recent years developed a popular following among local children by always having a pocketful of hard candy to give out.
"He was known from here to the coast as the candy man," said one of his sons, Stephen Wilder. "He's given out a ton of peppermint and butterscotch. Little kids would wait for him in the back of the church to get their candy."
Mr. Wilder's list of involvements traces the development of Knightdale. To mark his 80th birthday in 1989, the Knightdale Town Council declared a day in his honor. "The citizens of Knightdale feel that their community is a better place to live because of the efforts of Ashley Wilder," the proclamation read.
He was a member and chairman of the local school board for Knightdale High School and a founding member of the Knightdale Volunteer Fire Department, which was formed in 1954. He served as an active firefighter until 1979.
"He was the last living charter member," Knightdale Fire Chief George Gupton said. "He was very community-oriented and very well-known in eastern Wake County."
As a co-founder and first president of the Knightdale Medical Society, Mr. Wilder led an effort to attract doctors and dentists to rural eastern Wake by providing office space.
He was a deacon of Knightdale Baptist Church and active on the building committee that built the new sanctuary. He was a charter president of the Knightdale Lions Club and on the board of directors of the Knightdale Exchange Club.
"He stayed very involved up until recent years," said Mayor Carl Moore of Knightdale. "His allegiance and interest was always in Knightdale."
Mr. Wilder died at Raleigh Community Hospital after developing pneumonia, his son said.
Mr. Wilder is survived by three sons: Stephen Ashley Wilder and W. Barry Wilder of Knightdale, and Landon Eaddy Wilder of High Point. His wife, Lona Mae Wilder, died in 1979.
Other survivors include a brother, Edley W. Wilder of Raleigh, and three sisters, Cassie Jones and Catherine Smith, both of Raleigh, and Alva Smith of Mechanicsville, Va.
Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Knightdale Baptist Church. Burial will be in the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive visitors today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at L. Harold Poole Funeral Home and at other times at the Wilder home at 412 Third Ave.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery beautification fund, P.O. Box 21, Knightdale, 27545."
Author: WADE RAWLINS
Edition: FINAL
Page: B1
Copyright (c) 1994 The News and Observer
"KNIGHTDALE -- Ashley Wilder, who helped put in place the foundation to turn a tiny eastern Wake hamlet into one of the county's fastest-growing towns, died Monday at 85.
Mr. Wilder served as mayor from 1962 to 1964, during which time Knightdale laid its first sewer lines. He was instrumental in founding numerous service organizations, from civic clubs to the volunteer fire department.
"He was a person who had a vision of what the town should be for its constituents," said Billy Wilder, a distant cousin who later served as mayor. "A fire department was a very important rallying point for small towns as a center for civic activity and put out an awful lot of fires. He understood that the town needed to provide things that were good for the life of the community."
Ashley Wilder ran a general merchandise store on First Avenue until the 1970s and in recent years developed a popular following among local children by always having a pocketful of hard candy to give out.
"He was known from here to the coast as the candy man," said one of his sons, Stephen Wilder. "He's given out a ton of peppermint and butterscotch. Little kids would wait for him in the back of the church to get their candy."
Mr. Wilder's list of involvements traces the development of Knightdale. To mark his 80th birthday in 1989, the Knightdale Town Council declared a day in his honor. "The citizens of Knightdale feel that their community is a better place to live because of the efforts of Ashley Wilder," the proclamation read.
He was a member and chairman of the local school board for Knightdale High School and a founding member of the Knightdale Volunteer Fire Department, which was formed in 1954. He served as an active firefighter until 1979.
"He was the last living charter member," Knightdale Fire Chief George Gupton said. "He was very community-oriented and very well-known in eastern Wake County."
As a co-founder and first president of the Knightdale Medical Society, Mr. Wilder led an effort to attract doctors and dentists to rural eastern Wake by providing office space.
He was a deacon of Knightdale Baptist Church and active on the building committee that built the new sanctuary. He was a charter president of the Knightdale Lions Club and on the board of directors of the Knightdale Exchange Club.
"He stayed very involved up until recent years," said Mayor Carl Moore of Knightdale. "His allegiance and interest was always in Knightdale."
Mr. Wilder died at Raleigh Community Hospital after developing pneumonia, his son said.
Mr. Wilder is survived by three sons: Stephen Ashley Wilder and W. Barry Wilder of Knightdale, and Landon Eaddy Wilder of High Point. His wife, Lona Mae Wilder, died in 1979.
Other survivors include a brother, Edley W. Wilder of Raleigh, and three sisters, Cassie Jones and Catherine Smith, both of Raleigh, and Alva Smith of Mechanicsville, Va.
Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Knightdale Baptist Church. Burial will be in the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive visitors today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at L. Harold Poole Funeral Home and at other times at the Wilder home at 412 Third Ave.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the New Knightdale Baptist Church Cemetery beautification fund, P.O. Box 21, Knightdale, 27545."
Author: WADE RAWLINS
Edition: FINAL
Page: B1
Copyright (c) 1994 The News and Observer
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