Wilson Wilde of East Boothbay died in his home on Ocean Point Road on Monday morning, November 25, 2013, surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and devoted spouse Joan.

Wilde was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1927, and vacationed every summer of his 86 years at the Wilde family property overlooking Linekin Bay, East Boothbay.

He attended Loomis Chaffee, Williams College, and Swarthmore College. He entered the United States Navy Air Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla., immediately following high school graduation in 1945. Wilde served during the end of World War II and later aboard an aircraft carrier during the Korean War.

He enjoyed a successful career in the insurance industry; he worked for more than 40 years at the HSB Group, Inc., a global property casualty insurer in Hartford, Conn. He joined the company’s investment department in 1953 and rose to become the company’s chief executive officer in 1971 at the age of 43. He served as HSB’s CEO for 23 years, overseeing the company’s rapid growth and leadership in the property/casualty industry.

In summarizing Wilde’s career, a 1994 editorial in The Hartford Courant observed “(i)n the 23 years that he has headed Hartford Steam Boiler, the once narrowly focused firm has increased its assets by almost 500 percent, its revenues by more than 850 percent and the return on its stock by almost 2,000 percent.”

In 1990, Financial World magazine named him the Insurance Industry’s “CEO of the Decade.” Wilde devoted much of his life community service initiatives and organizations in Connecticut and in Maine, serving as board chairman of the Connecticut Historical Society, the Advisory Council of the Florence Griswold Museum, the Greater Hartford United Way, The Connecticut Governor’s Residence Conservancy, and the Old State House Association.

Additional boards included Shawmut, Hartford National, The Phoenix, General Re, Genrad and Emhart. As a devotee of the arts, a collection Wilde developed at HSB is a well-regarded collection of Conneticut impressionists and can now be seen at the Florence Griswold Museum.

Wilde dedicated a substantial portion of his life to The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., which he attended as a student and later served on its board of trustees for many decades, including 10 years as its chairman. Following his retirement from HSB Group as Chairman in 1994, Wilde built two houses on property adjacent to the original Wilde family summer property in East Boothbay, and moved with his wife Joan to Maine full time during the year prior to his death.

In his retirement years, Wilson was surrounded by many friends in and around East Boothbay Maine and was a passionate fan of the Boston Red Sox, and zealously enjoyed the team’s three World Series Championships in 2004, 2007 and 2013.

Wilde is survived by his wife Joan of East Boothbay. He was predeceased by his eldest son Stephen Wilde, who passed away in 2006.

He is also survived by his son, David W. Wilde of Hollis, N.H.; his daughter, Elisabeth L. Wilde of Farmington, Conn.; and his son, Richard A. Wilde of New York; as well as seven grandchildren, Tucker Wilde, Skyler Wilde, Eben Wilde, Kyle Johnson, Ryan Wilde, Tyler Wilde and Christopher Johnson. 

You are invited to share your condolences, memories and photos with the family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com. Arrangements are entrusted to Simmons, Harrington, and Hall in Boothbay.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in Bill’s memory to the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, the Boothbay Region YMCA and Bigelow Laboratory.