Edmund Charles Wild

Edmund Charles Wild, age 92, passed away on September 29, 2023 at Mebane Ridge Assisted Living in North Carolina, with his two children at his side.  He was born in Rockville Centre, New York to Edwin Fred Wild and Magdalena Hedwig Navratil.  Edmund (Ed) married Genevieve Carr on January 11,1953 and together they lived in New York, California, Utah, and North Carolina.

Ed was raised in Lindenhurst, New York and graduated from Lindenhurst High School where he played football, baseball, and ice hockey.  He enlisted in the United States Army during the Korean War and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.  Ed saw heavy combat, working on the front lines as a forward observer and in the 24th Signal Company.

Ed received a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University (Potsdam, New York 1958) and a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University (Palo Alto, California 1960).

In 1960, Ed joined General Electric’s Advanced Electronic Center (Ithaca, New York) and then moved to General Electric’s E-lab (Syracuse, New York) in 1965.  While at General Electric, Ed and his engineering colleagues worked on the initial development of computer graphics visualization for use in pilot training.  In 1972, Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation (Salt Lake City, Utah), recruited Ed and his two colleagues.  With the partnership of these three engineers, Evans and Sutherland pioneered the development of computer graphics and visual simulation for military and commercial pilot training simulators and CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing).  Ed stayed at Evans and Sutherland through 1988 and worked in several key leadership positions, as director and vice president. 

In 1988, Ed was recruited by Sun Microsystems, to lead their Engineering Visualization Products and Graphics Products Division in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Ed retired from Sun Microsystems in 1994.

Ed was a person of integrity, courage and honesty and he treated everyone with kindness and respect.  Throughout his life he helped those who were less fortunate with both his time and financial support.  His wisdom, curiosity, thirst for learning and intellect were exceptional, and he enjoyed mentoring and developing others.  Ed’s keen sense of humor provided for many amusing stories which he loved to share. 

Ed is survived by his daughter Jennifer Payne, son Edwin Wild, son-in law Thomas Jeffery Payne, daughter-in-law Kelly Wild, and grandchildren Sean Wild and Audrey Wild.  Ed was predeceased by his wife of 68-years, Genevieve Wild and sister Francine Wild.

Funeral service will be held on Monday, October 16, 2023 at 11:00 am at Christ United Methodist Church, 2375 E. 3300 S., Salt Lake City, Utah.  A visitation will be held prior to the service at the church from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.  Ed will be laid to rest at the Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park.

For those unable to attend in person the funeral will be live-streamed by clicking the following link(s).

https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/g8w6CADm30hJ1WnyCGlOlJ?domain=christumcutah.org

https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/fpkZCBBn3kcJl4MQC6e5X3?domain=youtube.com

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation to the charity of your choice.