Geoffrey Wilson died on January 6, 2019 at Rogerson House in Boston, MA, where he was under care for Alzheimer’s. He was married to Elizabeth DeCamp Wilson for nearly 64 years, until Liz’s death in 2011. He was also predeceased by a son, Frederick Wilson. He is survived by daughters Amy Wilson (David August) and Mary Wilson (Jonathan Dana), a son Timothy Wilson (Deirdre Smith), and seven grandchildren (Harry August, Seth August, Aaron August, Lucy Dana, Andrew Dana, Leigh Wilson, and Christopher Wilson).
Geoff was born on July 31, 1925 in Ticonderoga, New York in a summer home on Lake George. He attended the Graham-Eckes School in Florida and the Millbrook School in New York, and graduated from the Lawrenceville School, New Jersey, in 1943. He served in the U. S. Marine Corps from 1943-1946, including a year in Japan as part of the U.S. occupational forces. He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1949 and a Masters in Library Science from Columbia University in 1954.
In 1954 Geoff moved with his family to Philadelphia to assume a position with the Free Library of Philadelphia. He worked for the library system for the next 33 years, becoming Head of the Logan and Tacony library branches, and ultimately the Head of Adult Book Selection for the entire system. He wrote occasional book reviews for the Philadelphia Inquirer. As a lover of literature, Geoff was twice a member of the selection committee for the Association of American Publishers' list of titles to be displayed at the Moscow International Book Fair, in 1979 and 1985.
Geoff lived in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia for over 50 years. He served a term as Inspector of Elections in his voting district, continuing a tradition of baking cookies to serve to voters after they cast their ballots.
After his retirement in 1987, Geoff researched and wrote a biography of his grandfather, John Danenhower, who was part of an ill-fated polar expedition in 1879–1881; read voraciously; and watched his beloved Phillies on television. He was devoted to music throughout his life, taking guitar lessons into his 80s, composing folk songs, and entertaining those in his residential facility on his guitar. He spent summers at his cottage on Lake George in Ticonderoga, NY, a stone’s throw from the cottage in which he was born. In 2005 he published Rogers Rock: The Hotel, The Club, The Cottage Colony, a history of the summer community of which he was a part his entire life.
Geoff always had a soft spot for the underdog (possibly explaining his devotion to the Phillies). While head of a library branch in Philadelphia he so admired the work of one of the security guards that he nominated him for Librarian of the Year, even though he wasn’t a librarian. When he worked at the central branch of the Philadelphia Library he befriended a man who sold soft pretzels in front of the building and helped get the man released from a state hospital after he was committed there.
The family gives their heartfelt thanks to the staff of Rogerson House, Jamaica Plain, MA for their kind and compassionate care, and Connie Jenkins for her devoted care and friendship during Geoff’s last years in Philadelphia.
Services will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lake George Land Conservancy, PO Box 1250, Bolton Landing, NY 12814, http://www.lglc.org/
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