Funeral services for Bill Wahlman, 89, of Portales will be held at 2:00 P.M., Thurs., Aug. 23, 2018 at the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ with Barney Blue, Buddy Blue, Peter Dahlstrom and Mike Terry officiating. Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Glen Fields, Jack Self, Rod Self, Craig Breshears, Ernie Marshall, Butch Allen, Chris Harrell, Jack Batson and Leslie Rector serving as pallbearers, and Bill Dalley as an honorary pallbearer. Those desiring to make memorial contributions may send them to the New Mexico Christian Children’s Home, 1356 NM 236, Portales, NM 88130 or to the charity of their choice.
Bill Wahlman was born June 20, 1929 in Madison, IN to the home of Ethel (Moore) and Henry Wahlman, and died Aug. 20, 2018 in Portales, NM. During his early childhood, the family moved several times before finally settling in Ada, OK where he completed his schooling graduating from high school in 1948. It was during his high school years where he earned the opportunity to teach a class period in Psychology because of his grades, and also teaching accounting labs while attending college at East Central Sate in Ada, that he was inspired to become a teacher.
Bill went on to attend Oklahoma East Central State College, graduating in 1953 with a BS in Elementary Education and minors in Business and Mathematics. During the fall registration of his senior year, he was helping incoming freshmen register and make their class schedules. It was at that time that he first met Shirley Ruth Pickens. By the end of the term they were engaged, and on August 14, 1953 in Boswell, OK, they began a marriage that would last more than 65 years.
Soon after their wedding, they came to Portales, where Bill began his teaching career as a sixth grade teacher at Central Grade School, which would later become L. L. Brown. He taught in that same class room for 25 years, before moving to Lindsey Elementary when the grade schools reorganized. Bill taught there for another 11 years, retiring in 1989 after 36 years of teaching.
In addition to his role as a teacher, in 1954 Bill was hired to coach the summer recreation program. He continued to coordinate the Portales Recreation Program for decades and during that time, gave countless young people their first jobs. In 1959, he observed that the Junior High School had no 7th or 8th grade football programs, so he volunteered to give time to coach the two teams. He later organized the first 7th grade basketball team. In 1975, Bill took on the responsibilities of coaching both the Boys and Girls Portales High School Tennis teams, from which he retired after 25 years. The Bill Wahlman Tennis Complex was named in his honor in 1995. A record of his teams’ many championships is displayed there. In all, Bill worked for the Portales Public Schools for a total of 52 years.
In addition to all of the other activities, he and Shirley operated their own photography business for more than 30 years. Together they organized the Annual Portales Tennis Tournament and oversaw it for many years. Bill was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ, and regularly attended the services at Third and Kilgore Church of Christ.
Through the years, Bill has been recognized in numerous ways. In 1958 he was chosen by the Portales Education Association as Teacher of the Year. In May of 1992, he was inducted into the Southeast Region National Education Association – New Mexico Hall of Fame. In 2001 he was awarded the United States Tennis Association Southeast New Mexico Lifetime to Tennis Award. He received the New Mexico Athletics Association Distinguished Service Award in September of 2005. Bill was chosen as the Citizen of the Year in 1995. He has been honored by the Portales Softball Association, the Woodmen of the World, the Noonday Kiwanis Club and the Portales Board of Realtors among others. But most of all, Bill Wahlman is honored by the countless young people who have benefited from his lifetime of service and dedication. The contributions of “Coach Wahlman” to the lives of the young people of Portales will reach forward for generations to come.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Shirley of their home; a cousin, Sue Johnson of Grand Junction, CO; several nieces and nephews including Betsy and Gary Wood of Oklahoma City, OK; and Alejandra Sanchez-Miralles of Alicante, Spain, who was like a daughter. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Clarence and W. T. Benson and a sister, Beatrice Brennan.
