Walter ‘Wedge’ Wilks

WILKS, Walter "Wedge," 91, of East Springfield, Ohio, passed away on Dec. 3, 2009, following a brief illness.

He was born July 28, 1918, in Amsterdam, Ohio, son of the late Joseph and Lottie Wilks.

Walter served for three years in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns with the 610 Ordinance Battalion, reaching the level of Staff Sergeant.

He owned and operated the Wilks Chevrolet Company in Amsterdam for more than 65 years. He served on the board of directors of the Citizens Banking Company in Salineville for several years, and was a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Amsterdam.

He is preceded in death by two sisters, Helen Kish and Clara Prisbylla.

Along with his wife, the former Helen Zak, whom he married on July 7, 1951, he is survived by three sons; Dan (Jenny) of Hudson, Ohio, Greg (Patty) of Landenberg, Pa., and Gary (Teri) of Naperville, Ill; four grandchildren, Christina, Ryan, Ted and Sarah; one brother, Edward Wilks of East Springfield; and one sister, Josephine Seleski of Cadiz.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 7, 200 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Amsterdam with Father John McCoy officiating. Entombment will follow at Fort Steuben Burial Estates in Wintersville.

Visitation will be from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Sunday at Sweeney-Dodds Funeral Home of Amsterdam.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in the name of Walter Wilks to the "V Foundation for Cancer Research." Donations can be made by calling 800-454-6698, or online at jimmyv.org.