Wife of 96-year-old crash victim remembers the humble athlete

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK)— A 96-year-old man who died in a crash on Interstate 75 is being remembered by his wife and neighbors as an active, humble person who made a lasting impression on everyone he met. 

Arthur Gilbert's wife, Pamela, sat down with WINK News' Bella Line and said she married him in April 20 years ago. She described their relationship as a love story that spanned 23 years. 

"It has been a love story for 23 years that I've known him," Pamela Gilbert said. "We're gonna celebrate his life. He's so incredibly wonderful." 

Arthur Gilbert's life was filled with hiking, tennis, laughter, and love. Pamela Gilbert said they moved to Legacy Circle in Lely just a few years ago. In those few years, neighbors said Arthur Gilbert made a lasting impression. Neighbor Ben Wallace said he looked up to him. "I used to tell him that when I get to be in my 90s, I want to be just like him," Wallace said. 

Wallace and neighbor Fred Donatucci met Arthur Gilbert while playing tennis. They said they never would have guessed his age. "I think he said, 'I'm 94,' I said, 'Wait a minute, hold on, 94? how do you do that?' and he looks at me, amazed. 'What do you mean? Everybody does that?" Donatucci said. 

Donatucci described Arthur Gilbert as having stellar athleticism and personality. He was a winner on and off the court. "Just a delightful guy, humble, very nice man," Donatucci said. 

Pamela Gilbert said she believes her husband would have loved to know how much he meant to everyone. 

"In hindsight, I think he would love to know the support and love this outpouring and how much he meant to everybody," Pamela Gilbert said. 

Pamela tells us Arthur Gilbert would have turned 97 in April, so his family will hold a celebration of life to honor his life and legacy both in Naples and in Vermont.