John W. Wilson

John W. Wilson was born in Navasota, TX on November 2, 1920 and joined his beloved wife Frances Wilson in death on July 7, 2016 at 95 years of age. The son of Theodore Walter Wilson and Grace Florence Wilson, John was also preceded in death by his sister Floy Setzer Wilson.

He was raised on a farm outside Navasota and became intimately familiar with farm life, joining in the hard labor of cotton picking and cattle raising, riding to school on horseback, and studying the music and storytelling of local African American sharecroppers with whom he frequently worked as a field hand. It was this experience that led him to become an accomplished writer in his teens and early twenties, penning short stories about life in the Brazos River bottoms and fields. Published often in the Southwest Review in the early 1940’s and 1950’s, John’s short stories garnered favorable reviews. He expanded one of his stories into a Masters Degree thesis at Southern Methodist University. The work, published as a novel in 1948, was entitled High John the Conqueror. The New York Times critically praised it as a work of unusual and sensitive insight. He was pleased in later years when the TCU Press republished the book in paperback and that it was used in university literature courses around the country. In an afterword to the republished novel, it was noted that there were few novels published in America in 1948 that treated African Americans as sensitive human beings, and that no other Texas novel written before 1950 spoke so strongly against racism as High John did. With the republication of his novel, John took delight in getting occasional small royalty checks for a book he wrote over 50 years earlier. He was also gratified when in 2011 SMU highlighted his work in a special exhibit at the DeGolyer Library celebrating Texas writers.

As a young man in his twenties when WWII broke out, John joined the US Marine Corps and after basic officer training was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He was a Platoon Leader during the invasion of Okinawa, serving in K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Serving in combat during the fierce fighting to take that vital island, John made lifelong friends with his fellow Marines, with whom he stayed in contact at periodic reunions of his unit. After VJ Day, entertaining ideas of going home, John was instead sent to Northern China to perform security duties for several months. Finally released from active service as a 1st Lieutenant, he returned home in 1946 to marry his college sweetheart, Frances Clark of Honey Grove, TX. The marriage lasted until May 2002, when Frances passed away.

After WWII John taught English at SMU, fathered a son, published his novel, and then took up business. He joined Chance Vaught Aircraft Company as a technical writer. However, the Korean conflict interrupted his budding business career and he was recalled to active duty. He served as a US Marine Corps company commander in Korea and was eventually discharged with the rank of Captain. Returning home in 1953, he became a marketing and sales manager at the Geophysical Services Company, the predecessor of Texas Instruments, Inc. Starting in that role with the founders of TI, he went on to become a TI executive himself. He retired from TI in 1987, but stayed on in a contract role to help design and implement the employee benefits program. Later he joined a select group of other TI retirees in creating a book about the history of Texas Instruments.

In retirement John and Frances were active in country club activities, dancing clubs, and neighborhood gatherings. Their circle of friends in University Park and beyond was wide and varied. They enjoyed travel, often visiting their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren at various military posts in the US and overseas.

John spent his last years as a resident of The Forum Independent Living facility on Park Lane in Dallas. A prized breakfast and lunch companion for his wit and gentleness, he was a welcome addition to the community there. He was particularly grateful for the care and attention that the ladies of the Ambassadors Service gave him for the last several months.

John W. Wilson is survived by his son, Colonel Theodore C. Wilson, US Army (Retired) and his daughter-in-law Nicola D. Wilson, of Dallas; his granddaughter Kristen Ellen Wilson, PhD., of Richardson; and his grandson Theodore Lee Wilson, wife Céline Wilson, and great-granddaughter Eloise Luna Wilson, of San Francisco. A memorial service will be held at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Wynne Chapel on July 15, 2016 at 11:30AM. John’s family requests no flowers and suggests that contributions may be made to your favorite charity in his memory.