George Everett Wilder 1909-2007 SOUTHWICK - George Everett Wilder (known as Everett), 98, Southwick and, formerly, West Springfield died Tuesday, September 25, 2007. He was born in Petersham, MA, son of George Kirk and Adelaide Moody Hodsdon Wilder. He graduated in 1932 from the University of Vermont where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and a long-distance track star on the cross-country team. He returned home to work the family farm for 23 years before moving to West Springfield to become a County Extension Agent, helping farmers of livestock and fruit in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. He assisted apple growers by monitoring orchards for insect populations and enabled growers to reduce the frequency of pesticide sprays. He ran the apple booth for the Hampden County Apple Growers at the Eastern States Exposition for many years, was a well-known judge at local area fairs, and organized the New England Fruit Growers Trade Show each year in Concord, NH. He was honored with a Certificate of Distinguished Service by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents and retired at the age of 70. Everett was an active member of the Mittineague Congregational Church, served as deacon and was a member of the Men's Club. He was a volunteer ski patrol at Paucatuck Ski Area and enjoyed skiing at Mt. Tom through his 80th year. He belonged to the Hampden County Beekeepers Association and, after retirement, the Hampden County Harvest Club. He was predeceased by his first wife, Charlotte Rich Wilder and his older sister, Charlotte Douthit. He leaves a son, Charles R. Wilder and his wife Kathryn Casey of Granby, Ct; a daughter, Anne W. Borg and her husband Robert and two grandsons, Seth and Austin Borg of West Suffield, Ct; a sister, Gertrude Cook; two nieces and a nephew. He also leaves his second wife, Mabel Filio Collins Wilder and six stepchildren and their families: Dr. Bradford Collins and his wife Stacey of Columbia, SC, Ronald Collins and his wife Martha of Westfield, Nancy Collins of Fort Myers, FL, Marjorie Bruns and her husband Richard of Longmeadow, Roxanne Philips and her husband George of Westfield, and Dr. Craig Collins and his wife Denise of Longmeadow. A memorial service will be held at the Curran Jones Funeral Home, 109 Main St., West Springfield on Sun., Oct. 14 at 3:00 p.m. The family will greet Petersham friends at the East St. Cemetery on Sat., Oct. 13 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Petersham Historical Society, P.O. Box 364, Petersham, MA 01366