Sydney Francis Joseph Wiltshire died April 9, 2025, at the Cook Hospital as the result of a head injury he suffered 2 days earlier when he fell. The oldest of 3 children, Syd was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 14, 1939, to Sydney Ellsworth Wiltshire and Mary Cecilia (Papcun) Wiltshire. He graduated in 1957 from Maple Heights High School where he was a member of the Projectionists Club.

A proud Veteran, Syd enlisted in the United States Air Force on 27 Nov 1961 and re-enlisted 9 Nov 1964. He earned his AF Good Conduct Medal as a member of MACV-SOG5 (Military Assistance Command, VietNam - Studies and Observations Group 5), a joint special operations task force that included Air Force personnel and others, and conducted covert operations. Sargent Wiltshire was Honorably Discharged December 3,1970. While living in Cook, he was a member of the Orr American Legion Post 480.

Following his military service, Syd returned to the family home. His mother died in 1971 and when his father passed a few years later, Syd bought a truck, left Ohio, and began an odyssey to escape his demons. Few facts are known, but consistent stories spoke to fast cars, fast living and jobs that let him live in/visit beautiful locations in and around New England while working with his hands. He spoke most affectionately about a resort in the Catskills, working for the Railroad, and time with Native American Elders who put him in touch with his Creator and helped him explore sobriety.

We all knew Syd as a story-teller exceptionale, a train aficionado, and a music lover. As he showed when he came to Minnesota he also had an extraordinary work ethic, a love of the outdoors, the heart of an artist able to work in a variety of mediums, and a talent for fixing anything mechanical.

Syd related that (apparently about 1995) he was down on his luck and went to the Greyhound Bus Station, put what little money he had left on the counter and asked how far it would take him. Upon arriving in Duluth, he settled in by the Big Lake and started to get his feet back under him. In 1998 Paulette and Mike Finnegan met him through a mutual friend and invited him to live on their small farm in Buyck. He was further blessed when he got a job working for Ed Tausk at Vermilion Dam Lodge. Armed with a handsaw, hammer, and all the scrap materials he could find at The Dam, Syd built a rustic cabin for himself and his dog, Kola, and named his "kingdom" Anomaly Heights.

Burdened by some health issues and the loneliness of living in the woods with no transportation, in 2003 Syd opted to move 20 miles into an apartment in Town (Cook). He continued his healing journey and became a loveable Town Curmudgeon; walking a two mile circuit almost everyday (always with his coffee cup) to check in with friends at the local restaurant, grocery store, drug store, VFW, bank, anywhere he could find someone to make smile; and to sit on the boulder next to the tracks to greet the trains as they passed.  As time went on Syd's back problems and breathing became more troublesome and he got out less. It seemed all his prayers were answered when Marvin Aune moved into the apartment next door and the two of them set upon their "train chasing" adventures in Marvin's car. Each had an appreciation for and a deep knowledge of all things Railroad: locomotives, track structure, routes, schedules and even the names of crewmen. But this, too, passed when Marvin died. Syd's new "job" was as Hall Monitor - a half serious/half joking response to him taking up his post in a chair outside his apartment door at the start of each day. From here he kept up with local gossip, dispensed advice, repeated his favorite snide remarks and greeted visitors. Syd spent almost all of the last 20+ years in the Cook Apartments and in his later years assembled and framed dozens of puzzles that now adorn the walls of the buildings. Never one to pay too much attention to material goods, he favored friendship, laughter and hugs. He was a good man. He will be missed.

Syd never married and has no known children. He is survived by his brother Neil F. Wiltshire and sister-in-law Dee in Beaumont, California. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Myrna Jean.

A Memorial Service with Military Honors will be held on Monday, May 5, 2025 at 11:00 am at Mlaker Funeral Home, Cook, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.