1924
Benjamin
2014
Benjamin Harrison Wilson
March 8, 1924 — February 28, 2014
Benjamin Wilson, Jr.
Easley
Benjamin Harrison Wilson, Jr., 89, peacefully passed away Friday, February 28, 2014 in Easley, South Carolina. A memorial service will take place Saturday, March 8, 2014, 2:00 p.m., at Finch Chapel, Greensboro College, with a reception to follow in the Main Building.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 8, 1924, Ben was the son of the late Benjamin Harrison Wilson and Rachel Violet Johnston Wilson. After graduating from Perry High School in 1941, he attended the University of Pittsburgh before withdrawing to serve in the United States Army Air Corps. He served in World War II as a navigator and bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress with the 358th squadron of the 303rd bomber group in Europe. Following his discharge from the Army in November 1945, he briefly attended the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to West Virginia Wesleyan College, where in 1948 he graduated with a degree in mathematics and English. He married the late Kathleen ("Kitty") Lucille Snyder in 1949, and in 1950 received his master's degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh. He later earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965.
Ben taught English for two years at West Virginia University in Morgantown before moving to North Carolina to teach at Davidson College. He subsequently taught part time at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1958, Ben was appointed chair of the English department at Greensboro College, where he remained until his retirement in 1991. While at Greensboro College, he was an active member of the Inter-Faculty Forum, a group of instructors from all of the city's colleges that frequently discussed social and political issues in the 1960s. Civil Rights Greensboro has an interesting interview of Ben, which can be found at http://library.uncg.edu/dp/crg/oralhistitem.aspx?i=593.
For many years, Ben taught Sunday school at West Market Street United Methodist Church. He also worked as an advocate for the mentally ill, serving on the board of John Umstead Hospital and other mental health organizations. After Kitty's death in 1992, he married Kathryn Lois Colburn Wilson and later moved to South Carolina. While in South Carolina, he taught, and took, classes at the Furman University Learning in Retirement program.
For all of his personal and professional accomplishments, Ben is perhaps best remembered as being a caregiver at heart. He helped numerous family members, friends and students, through his time, talent and wisdom, navigate the difficulties of life.
Ben is survived by his loving family: his wife, Kathryn Lois Colburn Wilson and her daughter, Polly Brown and her husband Steve, and their children Steve and Abbie, all of South Carolina; his daughter, Kate Elizabeth Rachael Wilson of Greensboro; his son, Andrew Harrison Downes Wilson and his wife Lisbeth and their children and his two grandsons, Andrew Harrison Downes Wilson, Jr. and Holden Frederick Moore Wilson, all of Midlothian, Virginia; his sister, Lois Wilson Jourdan and her husband William, his niece, Janet Jourdan, and her children, Rachel and Miranda, all of Pittsburgh.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Ben's memory to either Greensboro College or the National Alliance on Mental Illness-North Carolina.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or in person at Robinson Funeral Home-Downtown, which is assisting the family.
Easley
Benjamin Harrison Wilson, Jr., 89, peacefully passed away Friday, February 28, 2014 in Easley, South Carolina. A memorial service will take place Saturday, March 8, 2014, 2:00 p.m., at Finch Chapel, Greensboro College, with a reception to follow in the Main Building.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 8, 1924, Ben was the son of the late Benjamin Harrison Wilson and Rachel Violet Johnston Wilson. After graduating from Perry High School in 1941, he attended the University of Pittsburgh before withdrawing to serve in the United States Army Air Corps. He served in World War II as a navigator and bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress with the 358th squadron of the 303rd bomber group in Europe. Following his discharge from the Army in November 1945, he briefly attended the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to West Virginia Wesleyan College, where in 1948 he graduated with a degree in mathematics and English. He married the late Kathleen ("Kitty") Lucille Snyder in 1949, and in 1950 received his master's degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh. He later earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965.
Ben taught English for two years at West Virginia University in Morgantown before moving to North Carolina to teach at Davidson College. He subsequently taught part time at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1958, Ben was appointed chair of the English department at Greensboro College, where he remained until his retirement in 1991. While at Greensboro College, he was an active member of the Inter-Faculty Forum, a group of instructors from all of the city's colleges that frequently discussed social and political issues in the 1960s. Civil Rights Greensboro has an interesting interview of Ben, which can be found at http://library.uncg.edu/dp/crg/oralhistitem.aspx?i=593.
For many years, Ben taught Sunday school at West Market Street United Methodist Church. He also worked as an advocate for the mentally ill, serving on the board of John Umstead Hospital and other mental health organizations. After Kitty's death in 1992, he married Kathryn Lois Colburn Wilson and later moved to South Carolina. While in South Carolina, he taught, and took, classes at the Furman University Learning in Retirement program.
For all of his personal and professional accomplishments, Ben is perhaps best remembered as being a caregiver at heart. He helped numerous family members, friends and students, through his time, talent and wisdom, navigate the difficulties of life.
Ben is survived by his loving family: his wife, Kathryn Lois Colburn Wilson and her daughter, Polly Brown and her husband Steve, and their children Steve and Abbie, all of South Carolina; his daughter, Kate Elizabeth Rachael Wilson of Greensboro; his son, Andrew Harrison Downes Wilson and his wife Lisbeth and their children and his two grandsons, Andrew Harrison Downes Wilson, Jr. and Holden Frederick Moore Wilson, all of Midlothian, Virginia; his sister, Lois Wilson Jourdan and her husband William, his niece, Janet Jourdan, and her children, Rachel and Miranda, all of Pittsburgh.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Ben's memory to either Greensboro College or the National Alliance on Mental Illness-North Carolina.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or in person at Robinson Funeral Home-Downtown, which is assisting the family.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Benjamin Harrison Wilson, please visit our flower store.
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