Wilde

Doug Wilde, 65, of Rockdale passed away Tuesday evening, Aug. 24, 2021, at Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Round Rock.

Services for Doug were held Monday, Aug. 30, at Phillips & Luckey Funeral Home in Rockdale with Pastor Barry Methvin of Apostolic Faith Church and Pastor Marcus Evans of Katy Community Fellowship Church officiating. Burial was at IOOF Cemetery in Rockdale.

Visitation was held Sunday, Aug. 29, at the funeral home.

Doug was born Oct. 21, 1955, in Raymondville to James Louis and Isabella Ottilia (Buxkemper) Wilde.

He graduated from Lyford High School.

Doug was known for his big smile and friendly demeanor.

He learned a strong work ethic growing up on a farm in the Rio Grande Valley.

He also had a strong sense of family with loving parents, two sisters and four brothers. Living near the bay, Doug’s dad passed on a love of fishing to all his children.

Doug attended Texas A&M University, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and where he was part of the Corps, Company C-1 (Cobra C Outfit).

After graduating, he sold John Deere equipment in East Bernard.

Doug moved to Rockdale in 1982, when he purchased the Western Auto Store. Soon after, he built the store at its current location. In 1996, he transitioned the business from Western Auto to CarQuest.

On Feb. 28, 1987, he and Marilyn LeAnn Springer were married in Rockdale.

He was a member of Apostolic Faith Church in Rockdale, where he was also a Sunday school teacher and men’s meeting leader.

He was a member and past-president of Rockdale Lions Club and had served as a director with Rockdale Chamber of Commerce.

Doug had been a long-time member of Gideons International and president of a local camp.

Because of Doug’s love for God and His Word, he has helped place many Bibles and give many New Testaments. When distributing on college campuses, he would give the students a New Testament and say “final exam notes.”

Because God’s love so radically changed Doug’s life, one of his greatest passions was to share that love with others. He would say, “God is in the people business, so we are in the people business.” CarQuest was sometime referred to as “Soul Quest.” The joy of interacting with people was one of the things that made retail business meaningful for Doug. He was truly a “people person.”

Doug loved “his girls.” He taught his wife and daughters the joy of fishing. His happy place was to be with his girls by an ocean, gulf or bay.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James Louis and Isabella Wilde; a brother-in-law, Patrick “Paddy” Joseph Brady; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Calvin and Doris Springer.

Surviving are his wife of 34 years, LeAnn Wilde of Rockdale; his daughters, Ann Alexandra Wilde of Waco and Caroline Lee Wilde of Rockdale; his sisters, Jane Brady of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, Judy Lullo and husband Dick Hansen of Houston; his brothers, Jim Wilde and wife Agnes of Caldwell, David Wilde of Cat Spring, Glenn Wilde and wife Julie of Lyford, Keith Wilde and wife Wanetta of Sanger.

Pallbearers were Jeff Wilde, Richard Lullo II, Hunter Wilde, Barret Wilde, Bryce Wilde and Travis Busselman.

Honorary pallbearers were Jack Wilde, Robert Zapata, Del Lange, Dwayne Smith and Ben Montelongo.

Memorials may be made in Doug’s memory to Gideons International Processing Center, P.O. Box 97251, Washington DC 20090-7251 or call 866-382-4253 or www.gideons.org.

Doug will be missed and he will be remembered for the loving, compassionate, Christ-filled man he was.

Arrangements by Phillips & Luckey Funeral Home, P.O. Drawer 1417, Rockdale, TX 76567, 512-446-5454.