Terry J. Wilund passed away on January 24, 2026 at the age of 79. Terry was a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) in the United States Army and flew helicopters during the Vietnam War, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement).
He continued his military service with the Missouri National Guard during his career.
Terry worked for the St. Louis County Police department for 16 years, where he flew the police helicopter and served as the flight instructor for incoming pilots. He later flew for ARCH Air Medical Services for 19 years, which included flying the “Kid Copter”, before his retirement.
Over the course of his flying career, Terry accumulated more than 18,600 accident-free flight hours. He often said, “I can’t believe that I get paid for doing something I enjoy so much”
He has truly affected the lives of so many and will be greatly missed.
Surviving Terry are his wife Rita Marie (Dressler), Son Erik (Stacey) Wilund, Daughter Dana (Ryan) Oelzen, grandsons Luke and Grant Oelzen and brothers Tim and Ken Wilund.
Visitation to be held Monday, February 2nd, from 4-9 pm at Kutis South County Chapel 5255 Lemay Ferry Rd. Mehlville, MO 63129
Funeral Tuesday, February 3rd, at 10:30 am Kutis South County Chapel Military burial with full honors to follow at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or to the Alzheimer’s Association appreciated.
Rita and family,
I am so very sorry to hear the passing of Terry. It was a truly pleasure to work with him at ARCH. He had the BEST stories and one of the nicest guys around. May he rest in the arms of angels. 🕊️
Met Terry through Samc ed
Great guy
Will miss you ole friend.
Knew TERRY FOR OVER 60 years what a fun loving person always making you laugh.He enjoyed taking pictures and making them into videos some of which should never have been shown,ha ha.
Will miss you buddy but the memories of you will never fade
I am sorry to hear about the passing of Terry . Both families of Terry’s and Rita’s were good to me. Terry will be missed by all who knew him. Robert Drobena
Terry was my main pilot when I was a flight nurse at Arch. He was kinda like a dad for me. He had great stories about his family or his flying career and we loved playing scrabble during down time. I just want to say that I am so sorry for your loss. Terry I loved you and want to thank you for keeping our crew and our patients safe during all our flights. I am hoping to see you again some day out there in the universe and we can share another game of scrabble and a laugh. Fly high dear friend!
Terry was such a joy to work with. Upbeat, kind, joyful, honest, and always willing to
offer a helping hand. When he sat in that pilot seat, he became part of the aircraft.
I can think of him even in the days without all the navigation technology having maps spread out on his lap, operating radio’s, and pinging locators so we could avoid these news things called cell phone towers. You truly knew you were safe and coming home when Terry was at the controls. How blessed his family and friends were to have him in their lives. May you all be blessed with comfort as you grieve your loss.
Wonderful man and great pilot. Enjoyed every flight with him both due to his skill and getting to have a conversation with a wonderful person.
So sorry! He was a great pilot and wonderful person.😪
Rita, our deepest sympathy to you and your family. I met him in High School and he was a great man.
I worked with Terry, as a Flight Paramedic at ARCH, for 10 years. I absolutely loved having Terry as our Pilot. A decorated war hero, his competency was unrivaled. You knew you were always safe with Terry. His effervescent personality lit up every room he walked in to. He was always willing to help out with tasks that weren’t in his job description. On those long flights to Southern Missouri, Terry always had a whimsical story (or two) to entertain the crew with. Once, when I was a newer Flight Medic, we were flying west on an evening with a breathtakingly beautiful sunset. As the sun went below the horizon, Terry looked over at me and asked “How would you like to see that again?”. He climbed to an altitude where we could watch the sunset again. That’s the only time in my life I’ve ever seen the sunset twice in the same day. Godspeed Terry. You’ll be missed.
A wonderful human being, a great pilot, and a true soldier. It doesn’t seem right that we should lose such good people.
Dana and Family, we’re so sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is a profound loss. He was so proud of you, Dana, and would have loved how you took care of him and everyone in your lives. What a great man. He will be missed.
Ann and Chris
Terry and I crossed paths many times during our careers. Our service in Vietnam was very similar, same places, different times. We enjoyed reminiscing about where we had been and what we had seen. He was in the Guard, I was in the Reserves. He flew EMS, I went to the FAA. Thank you, Terry, for a lifetime of service.
Fred Harms
Sad to hear ! I haven’t seen him for a few years. I worked with Terry in the late 70’s at the county. He was very welcoming when I started there. I think he went to high school with my sister. He always remembered me when he saw me around South county. I Never forgot him either he was one of my favorite people. Rest in peace.
We bought Rita and Terry’s home on Gladwood about 28 1/2 years ago right before my wife and I were Married. You talk about nice people, they were so wonderful to Us when we came by for a tour of the house, we fell in love with it right away. More importantly, I just want to say I’m so very sorry for the loss of Terry. He was such a cool guy who served Our country, and made a great helicopter pilot. Our Prayers go out to the Rita and the rest of the Wilund Family. RIP Terry. You’ll be missed.
Bryan and Lisa Payne
I knew Terry back in the Metropolitan days, he was one of the finest men I have ever met, a great loss for all who knew him.
So sorry to hear of Terry’s passing. We are very happy that us Prentice Wisconsin cousins all got together in St Louis for a Brewers/Cardinals game a few years back. What an awesome memory. Plus the few times you and your family made the trip back to Prentice. Your oldest son was just a few months old. To Rita, Eric and Dana, his brothers Tim and Ken sending 🤗❤️
💕
Terry was a great pilot and great friend to all who knew him. Love him and miss him