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Robert Oliver ''Bob”/"Pop Pop'' Wilhelm, 74, passed away on June 25, 2023, surrounded by his friends and family. It was a privilege to know him, to love him, and most of all to be loved by him.
Pop Pop was born on March 9, 1949 in Geneva, New York, and after short periods in New York, Connecticut, and Ohio, spent his childhood in Portola Valley, California. He moved to Ponte Vedra Beach in 1965 to the very neighborhood where he would spend nearly sixty years. He attended The Bolles School in Jacksonville, and upon graduation returned to California to attend Stanford University, where he played baseball. He graduated from Stanford in 1971, and despite being drafted by the California Angels, he came home to attend law school at the University of Florida. After obtaining his law degree in 1974, he practiced as a trial attorney across Florida for thirty years.
Pop Pop was a man of extraordinary talents, and was an accomplished athlete even after his college baseball career. Tennis was his passion; he won the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club tennis club championship, and continued to play doubles at PVIC for the next fifty years and up to his final days. He was an exceptional self-taught musician who played and composed on the guitar, dobro, mandolin and ukulele, and performed in venues across Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine for over fifty years.
Beyond his talents, Pop Pop was a man of exceptional integrity, principle and honor. He was brilliant and quirky, generous and kind. He was a true gentleman. He is survived by Darlene, his loving wife of 31 years; daughters Ann Clay and Natalie; and sons Mark, Oliver, and Evan. He was preceded in death by his parents, Oliver and Janet; brother Mark; and sisters, Lynn and Christina.
Join us for a celebration of Bob’s life on Monday, November 20, 2023 at 5:30 pm at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club tennis courts.
Please visit his Tribute online at www.quinn-shalz.com.
