Funeral service for Sheldon Lee Vilhauer, 27, Carson, Calif., and formerly of Hosmer, will be 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St., Aberdeen. The Rev. Scott Drexel will officiate. Burial will be in Riverside Memorial Cemetery. Sheldon died on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013.
Visitation will be from 1 to 7 p.m., with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home.
Sheldon Lee Vilhauer, son of Gilbert and Kay (Knudson) Vilhauer, was born on Oct. 9, 1985, in Ipswich. He was raised on the family farm near Hosmer and graduated from Edmunds Central High School with the class of 2004. Following his high school graduation, Sheldon attended the University of Minnesota, Crookston, where he studied aviation. He later attended Indiana Bible College in Indianapolis for two years.
Sheldon returned to South Dakota and began his career in the wind power industry. In 2008, he began making his home in California and was employed as a wind turbine blade technician for Modular Wind Energy. His co-workers quickly recognized that he was wise beyond his years and his input was relied upon in almost all major decisions. His talents ensured that he rapidly advanced and he managed the entire wind turbine blade testing department.
In this job, Sheldon was responsible for all testing of 150 foot long wind turbine blades that were built in sections and joined in the field. He designed and built the only privately held wind turbine blade testing facility in North America and proved that it was as capable as facilities owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. He designed and built the equipment and ran the tests that proved that a modular blade could withstand once-in-a-lifetime wind gusts in addition to 20 years of normal operation, something only a few people in the world have accomplished. He was an inventor on 35 patent applications in the United States, Australia, Japan, Europe, Korea, India, Brazil, Canada and Mexico.
Sheldon loved his family and enjoyed old cars. He especially liked owning and driving his Jaguars. He loved to fly and was also a member of the National Business Aviation Association.
Grateful for having shared Sheldon's life are his parents, Gilbert and Kay Vilhauer; one brother, Anthony Vilhauer; one sister, Sarah Vilhauer; grandmothers: Eva Vilhauer and Myrna Knudson; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.
Sheldon was preceded in death by his grandfathers: Calvin Vilhauer and Alvin Knudson.
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