Mr. Wilson was born March 5, 1929, in Midland, Texas, third son and third child of six, to Harry Lester Wilson and Alice Murphree Williams of Shreveport, Louisiana, who moved to West Texas after their marriage in the mid-1920s. After Mr. Wilson was born the onset of the Great Depression forced the family to move around the Southwest a number of times for his father to find work. By the late 1930s the family settled in El Paso. Mr. Wilson had fond memories of his childhood and youth despite the economic hardships of the times.
Mr. Wilson attended El Paso and Austin High Schools. In 1947 he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served briefly in the Pacific as an aircrewman of an escort aircraft carrier. The untimely death of his father in 1947 resulted in his humanitarian discharge from the Marine Corps so he could return to El Paso to help his mother and younger sisters.
In 1948 Mr. Wilson met Nancy Edith Schale of El Paso. After a brief courtship they were married in 1949.
In 1951, months after the birth of the first of their four children, Mr. Wilson went to work for the El Paso Natural Gas Company (EPNG) and embarked on a satisfying 35-year career. During his career he worked and lived at eight different EPNG compression stations in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Late in his career and after their children were grown, the Wilsons spent two years in Algeria where he worked for EPNG, a partner in an international natural gas liquification project.
After retiring from EPNG in 1986 the Wilsons moved to Roswell, New Mexico. For almost two decades they enjoyed retirement, traveling by car from coast to coast, visiting with friends, children and grandchildren, and enjoying Roswell friends and neighbors.
Wife Nancy’s declining health and eventual passing widowed Mr. Wilson in 2007. He then did some traveling to visit family and was visited by family, but the loss of his Nancy was difficult. He continued to live in their house until 2017 when declining health forced action. With no immediate family in Roswell, he moved to El Paso near his daughter and son-in-law. In 2020 he entered into assisted living, where he lived until his passing.
Mr. Wilson was preceded in death by Nancy Edith Schale Wilson, his beloved wife of 58 years, parents Harry and Alice, stepfather Howard Carvajal, brothers Edwin and Orin Wilson, and sister Kay Swopes. He is survived by sisters Sue Shover of El Paso and Anne Smith of Conroy, South Carolina, step brother Bruce Carvajal of San Diego, California, son Eugene Kennon, Jr. (Eleanor) of Brunswick, Maine, daughter Virginia Christine Heronimus (Robert) of El Paso, son Warren David (Pauline) of Kirtland, New Mexico, and son Patrick Shawn (Mary) of Amarillo, Texas. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.
Donations are suggested in Mr. Wilson’s memory to Bartlett’s Assisted Living, El Paso, Texas, or to organizations dedicated to humane treatment of animals, as he was an avid protector of homeless cats and dogs.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MartinFuneralHomeWest.com for the Wilson family.
