Elsie Bennett Wilson

Elsie Wilson passed away peacefully November 14, 2019 at the Lila Doyle Center in Seneca, SC surrounded by family.

Mrs. Wilson was born in the family home in Calhoun, SC now part of the City of Clemson, SC October 14, 1922. That house later became the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house. Her father was Charles C. Bennett and her mother was Lucille Smith Bennett. Mrs. Wilson was a descendant of the Smith and Cochran families that settled in the upstate in the early 1800s and owned property adjacent to Fort Hill Plantation, the nucleus of Clemson University. Mrs. Wilson and her family have long been active members of the local community. Her father Charlie was a lifelong employee of the University, mayor of Calhoun for many years and her mother was an assistant Postmistress of Calhoun.

Mrs. Wilson attended Winthrop College. She married Kennon S. Breazeale, a Clemson graduate that lost his life in Europe during World War II and they had a son, Kennon that now resides in Honolulu, Hawaii. She later married Betts Wilson also a Clemson graduate and lifelong employee of the University and had a daughter, Carole Betts (Carole W. Oakley) a Clemson graduate. Mrs. Wilson's family includes Carole's husband Ronald W. Oakley, also a Clemson graduate, and their three children Ronald Sean Oakley, his wife Haynes Poe Oakley and Zachary Betts Oakley, all of whom live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and, along with their sister Heather, are all graduates of Clemson. Heather Oakley Gottehrer, her husband Kevin Barry Gottehrer and their three children, Hayden Betts Gottehrer, Greyson Barry Gottehrer and Bennett Anne Gottehrer live in Charlotte, NC.

Mrs. Wilson was associated with Clemson College from 1941 as an employee of the Southern Textile Association at Sirrine Hall. She retired from Clemson University in 2000 as an Executive Assistant, having served seven presidents: R.C. Edwards, Bill Atchley, Max Lennon, Walter Cox, Deno Curris, Phil Prince and Jim Barker. Several years ago she also spent a day with the current president, Jim Clements, during which she gave him a history of the President's Office and a few tales of the past. In her years at Clemson she was involved in many major events that impacted the school. One was related to the Army Corps of Engineers. She typed the letters that led to the building of the dikes on Lake Hartwell that now protect the lower campus. She was also a gatekeeper for the press during the successful integration of the University. Her husband, Betts, would often hold up her index figure and tout that "this is the finger that dialed Bob Hope" when Mr. Hope was planning his visit to campus. She was an original member of IPTAY and attended almost every game until a few years before her death. She was elected Mother of the Year and had the honor to "Dot the I" at one of the Tiger's games in Death Valley. When she retired she was recognized by the governor with the Order of the Silver Crescent for her dedicated service to the state of South Carolina.

In her retirement Mrs. Wilson was an adventurous traveler and visited all seven continents. She was an active member of the Clemson Methodist church for 81 years, supporting the church through three major rebuilding programs.

She will be laid to rest next to her husband Betts in the family plot located in Cemetery Hill on the fifty yard line about 20 yards outside the South Stands of Memorial Stadium. Go Tigers!

Funeral services will be held 3:00 PM Monday, November 18 at the Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, 108 Cross Creek Rd., Central.

The family will receive friends immediately after the service. The committal service will follow.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Elsie's memory to the H. Betts Wilson Scholarship Endowment, c/o Clemson University Foundation, P. O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633.

Visit RobinsonFuneralHomes.com or Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home – Central Commons.