Obituary of Arthur William Wilsdorf

Arthur W Wilsdorf, 92 passed away peacefully on October 7, 2024 at the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook, New York. He was born in New York, New York on November 7, 1931 and was the son of Marie and Arthur Wilsdorf. He leaves behind his daughter Cynthia and son-in-law Thomas, his son Arthur and daughter-in-law, Lenore. He also leaves behind five grandchildren Artie, Amanda, Mark, Meaghan, and Kaitlyn; two great grandchildren, Brooklyn, and Aiden. He joins his beloved wife, mother and father and sisters.

Our dad was respected and loved by all. He was a dedicated husband, loving dad, grandfather and great grandfather. He was always the one to dance, tell stories sometimes…long stories, and sing "Hey, Good Lookin'". He liked to play the harmonica and oh how he loved to whistle. Even though he was suffering from dementia for many years he still held onto his talent of whistling. It wasn't until the last six months that you no longer heard the whistle.

Our dad was a very strong man who could tackle just about anything. He was always helping family and friends with projects. It didn't matter what it was. Although he was not a fan of outside landscaping, his hands were golden and he could fix anything. He even rebuilt his donated private airplane. He loved to fly and while he was in the air he would dip his wing to say hello to my mom who was watching from the ground.

Our dad was honorably discharged from the National Guard on July 18, 1946. He served in the U.S. Army from December 26, 1948 through July 3, 1952. He married our mom, Clara Guglielmo on February 28, 1954. On July 22, 1954 he was certified as a mechanic and on he was hired by United Airlines where he worked for 40 years before retiring on October 31, 1994. Flying was his passion, and he received his student pilot certificate on November 4, 1957.

At United Airlines, our dad "Chief Inspector Wilsdorf" as he liked to be called, had the responsibilities for critical airplane inspections. He was well respected by all his peers.In one instance he was a major contributor to preventing a possible disaster. This involved the troubleshooting of an uncommanded door opening on a Boeing 747. Due to his efforts, the problem was identified and resulted in an investigation by United Airlines, the National Transportation Safety Board, and Boeing Company to determine the cause.

After he retired from United Airlines, he worked another 10 years at Aboff's Paint Store, always busy helping customers. He retired from Aboff's to help his wife Clara recover from open heart surgery. They were good for each other, helping each other with their deficits; our dad his dementia, our mom her declining physical abilities.

After years of raising their children in Valley Stream and Centerport, Mom and Dad lived in an apartment in our home since 2009. After his beloved wife's passing on June 6, 2024, and due to his progressing dementia, he was placed in the Long Island State Veterans Home where he received excellent care in his remaining days. We will all miss him though we know he is in heaven with his angel, our mom, the love of his life, as well as all his other deceased family and friends.

There will be a funeral mass celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport, New York on Tuesday, October 22 at 10:30 AM. Interment to follow at Calverton National Cemetery. The family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.