For Costa Mesan, a perfect day was spent using his hands

Elia Powers

For former Costa Mesa resident Eric Wilbur, a perfect day was one

spent using his hands.

He loved working on cars. Loved building engines, constructing

aircraft parts and reading about futuristic designs. On Sunday

afternoons, after a morning at church, Wilbur enjoyed nothing more

than taking his family out on the Pacific Coast Highway in his black

Cadillac.

The garage was his second holy place. And he spent his days

working in garages and hangars throughout North America.

“He’s one of the few people I know who got to do what he wanted

all of his life,” said Wilbur’s son, Jay, an Irvine resident.

Eric Wilbur died Jan. 30 of a heart attack. He had celebrated his

87th birthday 12 days earlier.

Born in Alberta, Canada, in 1918, Wilbur developed an interest in

aircraft at an early age.

“Airplanes were all the rage back then,” Jay Wilbur said. “He was

always fascinated by technology and anything mechanical.”

Eric Wilbur’s family moved to the United States when he was a

child. He spent most of his youth in Portland, Ore., only 175 miles

from Seattle and the headquarters of Boeing, where Wilbur later would

do work as a contractor.

In college, Wilbur studied thermodynamics and physics, all the

while preparing himself for a career in advanced mechanics. After

graduation, he traveled to California to get his repair license, and

he used his skills while serving in the Army Air Corps during World

War II.

Wilbur had an affinity for Southern California. After marrying his

first wife, Roma Wilbur, in Portland, the couple moved to Los

Angeles. There they raised Jay Wilbur and daughter Dona Martini.

After short stints in Bellflower and Garden Grove, Wilbur moved

the family again in 1958, this time to Costa Mesa. He bought a home

on East Bay Street. Martini said the area was up-and-coming when the

family arrived.

“When we moved in my dad said, “This is my ace in the hole. I’m

not letting this go,’” Martini said.

And he didn’t. The family still has possession of the home, and

Wilbur spent many of his retirement years living there.

Roma Wilbur died in 1965. Wilbur later married his childhood

friend, Joye.

He took advantage of living in Orange County. Martini said her

father liked to drive the family to Disneyland on weekends. Wilbur

often hosted neighborhood parties and was the one to organize

firework displays on the Fourth of July.

Wilbur had friends everywhere, including workout partners and

employees at the 19th Street 24-Hour Fitness, where he was one of the

gym’s first members.

When Wilbur wasn’t socializing, he was by himself in the garage.

He created jewelry, and particularly enjoyed working with wood and

metal.

Throughout his years in Orange County, Wilbur developed a

reputation as an expert in aircraft design and construction. Airport

executives coveted his knowledge of engines and hired him as a

consultant.

He worked with aviation pioneer Eddie Martin at what was then the

Orange County Airport. Wilbur had a host of other jobs working on

aircraft throughout Southern California.

Late in his life, he was invited to Washington, D.C., to donate to

the Smithsonian Institution a World War II training manual on how to

rebuild a B-29 aircraft.

At a memorial service held Friday, friends and family remembered

Wilbur as a man passionate about his family and his projects.