In Memoriam
David S. Wilshere, 78
August 28, 1943 - February 4, 2022
COOPERSTOWN – David Sprague Wilshere, a long-time resident of Cooperstown who served as caretaker of Doubleday Field for many years, passed away late Friday night, February 4, 2022, at his home on Curry Road in Hartwick with his wife, Meme, by his side. He was 78.
Born August 28, 1943, in Iowa City, Iowa, David was a son of Vernon S. "Whitey" Wilshere, a left-handed pitcher who played for Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics in the 1930s, and Betty Jean Munden Wilshere, a painter and Emergency Room RN at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown.
When he was four-years-old, David and his family moved from the mid-west to his father’s hometown of Skaneateles, where David attended a one-room schoolhouse. In 1953, they moved to Cooperstown and settled into their home on Chestnut Street.
A graduate of Cooperstown High School, Class of 1961, David excelled in sports and was a letterman in baseball, football, wrestling and track.
In September of 1961, David enlisted in the United States Navy, and proudly served his country during a tour of duty at the NATO base in Naples, Italy. During this time his wife and daughter joined him. He received his honorable discharge from active duty in the military on August 10, 1964, and was released from the reserves in August 1967.
