James Wilhelm, age 85, of Upper St. Clair, passed away on December 27, 2025. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Betsy (nee Ohlsson), a son Eric and a daughter Laura Love. Eric, his wife Christy, their daughter Corvidae, and son Procyon live in Oakland, CA. Laura and her husband Tyler Love and their son Ben live in Mt. Lebanon, PA. He has two younger identical twin brothers, Lynn and Lon, who live in Litchfield, MN, with their families. He also has a wide variety of loving nieces, nephews, and cousins who live in many different places throughout the United States.

Jim was born in Redfield, South Dakota, on May 20, 1940, to Maurice and Dorothy (nee Snyder) Wilhelm. He graduated from Redfield High School and went on to college at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD, majoring in chemistry. He then earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,OH, studying the antibiotic erythromycin.

Academic life intrigued him, so he joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania shortly after completing postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago where he met and married Betsy. He was subsequently recruited to the University of Rochester’s Medical School in Rochester, NY, where he expanded his interest in pathogens to include the Adenovirus.

He was recruited to Wyeth Labs in Radnor, PA, to join teams working on pharmaceuticals designed to treat infectious diseases. After the acquisition of Wyeth by Pfizer, he moved to the Boston area where more complex instrumentation was available at the site of Genetics Institute that Pfizer had just acquired. During the 25 years he worked at Pfizer he received multiple awards for designing major steps forward in developing novel pharmaceuticals. He retired at age 70 and moved to Upper St. Clair in 2017 to be near Laura and her family. He also spent 3 months every year for the past 10 years in San Francisco visiting Eric and his Family.

Jim’s interests and talents were not confined to scientific research. He was an accomplished pianist, played both guitar and recorders, and played cello in the Doctor’s Orchestra of Philadelphia. He also threw pots, generating fascinating forms of pottery. Some of these served as containers for the products of his expanded flower gardens wherever he lived. He had a plot at the Victory Gardens in Boston’s Fenway and belonged to the Lancaster Garden Club near his summer home on Spectacle Pond in Lancaster, MA. Last, but certainly not least, he loved to sail and to bike, enjoying the increasingly beautiful rail trails wherever he lived.

In summary he was a well read, witty, funny, mischievous and loving man with a great heart, a love of all living things, and many friends throughout the globe. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. In lieu of flowers, he would be pleased if you would send a contribution to either the American Cancer Society or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

On January 11 there will be a short remembrance of Jim during the service at Faith Lutheran Church in Upper St. Clair, PA. Sunday services from Faith Lutheran including the choir in which Jim sang are regularly streamed on YouTube (@faithlutheran5968). We plan a Celebration of his Life on Saturday, May 16, 2026.