Captain Hugh Leonard Wilde

Captain Hugh Leonard Wilde, 89, of Straits passed away at Carteret Health Care on Sunday, October 3, 2021.

Capt. Wilde was born in Lincoln, New Hampshire to Louise Harlow Wilde and Frederick Allen Wilde on June 10, 1932.   He had an exceptionally keen mind and an insatiable drive for knowledge and experience.  He grew up in New England and graduated from Harvard University in 1955.  He served in the US Marine Corps for 7 years as a pilot, serving in the Mediterranean and Japan. He met his wife of 55 years while stationed at the Marine Corps New River Air Station in Jacksonville.  Capt. Hugh and Harriette E. Davis were married in 1960 and began their family that would grow to 5 children.

After his military service, Capt. Wilde dedicated his life to education and community service and raising his family. He taught Latin at Kinston High School, English and American Literature at Lenoir Community College and served in leadership with the Boy Scouts and The Rotary Club among other organizations in Kinston, NC.  When the family moved to Carteret County in the early 1980’s, Capt. Wilde worked as a charter boat captain, a dive master, and assisted his sons, Buck and Stuart, in boat building.

Community service was very important to Capt. Wilde. He very proudly volunteered with first, the Atlantic Beach Fire Station and then did majority of his 40 years of service with the Otway Fire Station. Forever the educator, he volunteered with the Tiller Charter School as a Latin teacher and served on the board for several years. He also taught in the GED program, helping many people obtain their high school diploma. Capt. Wilde volunteered with Hospice of Carteret County and volunteered extensively with the Maritime Museum and the Bonehenge Whale Center in Beaufort.  This work gave him great joy.

Capt. Wilde was quite an athlete throughout his youth. He was a founding member of the Eastern Athletic Club, in Beaufort.  For over 20 years until just a couple of weeks before his passing, he was a diligent practitioner of water aerobics and will greatly missed by his many friends there.

He is survived by his sister, Joy Kelleher and her husband, Bill Kelleher of Coventry, CT; nephews Bruce, Brian, and Barry; his three daughters, Harriette Cooper of Straits, Rachel Wilde of Raleigh, and Rebecca Wilde of Boone; 7 grandchildren, Carmen, Bo, Elizabeth, Jerry, Samuel, James, and George; 7 great grandchildren; and his many friends.

He was proceeded in death by his wife, Harriette D. Wilde; his sons, Buck, and Stuart; his niece, Ellen; and his grandson, Joshua.

The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Friday, October 8, 2021, at Munden Funeral Home in Morehead City.  Otway Fire Station will host the memorial service at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 9, 2021, with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Otway Fire Station, P.O. Box 2154, Beaufort, NC 28516, the Bonehenge Whale Center, 275 W. Beaufort Rd. Ext., Beaufort, NC 28516 or the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, 1924 Capital Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604.

Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.