Jan Allan Wilgers, 62, of DeLand, passed into eternal rest on Monday, September 5th at his home. Mr. Wilgers was born in Clay Center, Kansas and was a graduate of Kansas State University. He served in the US Air Force as a commander at a missile site in Arkansas in the early 1970s. He moved with his family to Florida in 1984 and was a teacher at DeLand Middle School for twenty years, where he introduced thousands of students to the wonders of science and was named Teacher of the Year in 2004.

Jan Wilgers was a noble man. He lived a life of service and had a deep understanding of our responsibilities towards each other, to the Earth and to God. He led a team that worked on dozens of homes for Habitat for Humanity; he went on over 20 work trips to Guatemala and Nicaragua with The Alliance for International Reforestation, where he built stoves, houses and the AIR Training Center; he was an active Elder at First Presbyterian Church. Jan loved his family and he enjoyed history, his dogs, Kansas, and hiking in the Colorado mountains.

He is survived by his wife, Anne Hallum; a son, Jason Rhett Wilgers, and his wife, Kirsten, and their children, Reed Allan and Elyse Kathleen; a daughter, Meredith Jones, and her children, Julian Flint and Zoe Suzanne; two step-daughters, Rebecca Hallum, Rachel Hallum-Montes and husband, Roger Montes; and three brothers, Larry Wilgers and Wendell Wilgers of Kansas and Lyle Wilgers of Colorado. A memorial service was held on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 10:00 am at First Presbyterian Church, DeLand. In lieu of flowers, the family will appreciate gifts to First Presbyterian Church or www.AIR-Guatemala.org in Jan's memory.