People don't often get a chance to pursue a childhood passion for an entire lifetime, but when the folks of the YMCA's Camp Menogyn in 1968 offered Robert "Skip" Wilke the leadership of the camp on the Gunflint Trail, he dropped a job as an engineer and made camping his life. For almost 50 years, Wilke would impart his love of the outdoors and YMCA camps to thousands of young people across Minnesota and throughout the world.
"He sure made a lot of difference for a lot of people in a lot of different ways," said Tony Lockhart, chairman of the board for Menogyn. "His legacy is one of respect, of teaching people how to act in community with respect for individuals."
Wilke, 79, died on New Year's Eve after a two-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. A huge-hearted, generous man who dedicated his life to YMCA camps, first as an employee, then as a boss and, finally, for decades as a volunteer, Wilke "was a visionary," said Niki Geisler, district camp executive for YMCA Camp du Nord. "He made us better. We are a stronger camp because of his presence. And his impact will be felt for generations to come."
Wilke was born June 21, 1938, in Gary, Ind., the oldest of three children. A younger sister died in infancy, said Wilke's younger brother, John. The family later moved to St. Paul, where Wilke grew up with a love of the outdoors and camping fostered by his parents Wesley "Tad" and Helen Wilke. He started attending YMCA camps in 1950, first at Camp St. Croix, then at Camp Widjiwagan in Ely.
He transitioned from camper to counselor, working at Widjiwagan while attending college and graduate school at the University of Minnesota. He continued his connection to the camp, and after a few years working as an engineer at 3M, YMCA officials offered him the job as camp director at Menogyn, which he would lead until 1982.
Charles Corcoran, a professor at University of Wisconsin-River Falls, was a camper at Menogyn in 1973.
"Skip was a burly guy, with this stern demeanor," he said. "But, really, he was jovial, happy. I remember him smiling from ear to ear."
He stressed maintaining the equipment and following best practices on the trail. "You never wanted to scratch your canoe if you were a guide at Menogyn or Widji," said Doug Nethercut, a former director of Menogyn who worked for Wilke as a trail guide. "But everybody knew he had a heart of gold."
He was well known for uttering two words when anyone asked for help: "No problem."
"I think he saw that YMCA camping changed young people's lives in really profound ways," Nethercut said. "And that really inspired him."
Wilke later went to New York, where he directed the YMCA's International Camp Counselor Program, recruiting young people from around the world to work at camps in the United States. After a career in which he won a number of awards, which he never displayed nor talked about, Wilke traveled the world and spent decades donating time, energy and money to YMCA camps and committees.
Among dozens of memories posted on social media since Wilke's death is this excerpt from an old camp song posted by Nancy McFarlin Diener: " 'It's the far northland that's a-callin' me away, as take I with my packsack to the road. It's the call on me of the forest in the north, as step I with the sunlight for my load. By lakes Duncan and Clearwater to the Bearskin I will go ...' A life well lived ... Well done, good and faithful servant."
Wilke is survived by a brother, John Wilke, of Little Canada, two nieces and a nephew. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, at Hamline United Methodist, 1514 Englewood Av., St. Paul.
James Walsh • 651-925-5041
