Kathleen Joyce Wilson's Obituary
Kathleen Joyce Wilson, a longtime resident of Memphis, died on July 22, 2024, at 4:44 AM in a local hospice residence with her son Lee by her side. Many family members and friends visited her during the preceding weeks at the hospital and hospice and will always treasure her kind and generous personality.
Kathleen was preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Emmett A Wilson III, her first husband Russell Leslie Williamson, her parents Russell W. Sims, Jr. and Eleanor Dorothy Sims, her mother-in-law Nelda Cothern Wilson, her father-in-law Emmett A Wilson, Jr. and her brother-in-law Lynn “Bacon” Harris.
Kathleen is survived by her brother David (Carol) Sims of Collierville, Tennessee; her brother Russell (Jo Anne) Sims III of Cerritos, California; her sister Eileen (Robert) Anderson of Cypress, California; her brother Donald (Jill) Sims of Tigard, Oregon; her sons James Russell (Lydia) Williamson of Chattanooga and Emmett Lee (Colleen) Wilson of Memphis; her grandsons Wyatt Williamson, Owen Williamson, Dean Williamson and Brendan Wilson; her sisters-in-law Jane Van Tour, Susan Wilson and Rhonda Harris; her Aunt Elizabeth “Betsy” Olson, cousins, nieces and grand-nieces, nephews and grand-nephews and many other loving family and friends.
Kathleen was born October 31, 1947 at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital within the historic Brooklyn Naval Yard at Wallabout Bay in New York City. She first lived in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey while her father was attending Columbia University with the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, and her mother was now out of the Navy after being with the Nurse Corps through World War II and beyond.
From June 1949 to September 1963 Kathleen moved eleven times across North America while her father was at various naval air stations, training assignments, deployments and other duties with the US Navy: NAS Key West, Florida (1949-51); NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey (1951-53); Monterey, California where the Navy Postgraduate School is located (1953-54); NAS Pensacola, Florida (1954-55); NAS Hutchinson, Kansas (1955); NAS Jacksonville, Florida (1955-57); Gainesville, Texas where her grandparents Russell and Foie Sims lived and while her father was in Europe on the aircraft carrier USS Tripoli (1957-58); NAS New Orleans, Louisiana (1958-60); NAS Paxutent River, Maryland (1960-61); NAS Argentia in Newfoundland, Canada where she attended the Arthur L. Bristol School through Tenth Grade (1961-63); and Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Chase Field in Beeville, Texas where she graduated from A.C. Jones High School in May 1965.
Kathleen attended the Washington Hospital Center School of Nursing in Washington, DC from September 1965 to June 1966. After the first year she decided not to further pursue a nursing career and moved to Clifton, New Jersey where she lived with her maternal grandparents, Bertil and Ellen Olson. While working in Clifton she also found time to socialize with friends at nearby Rutgers University. Kathleen next moved back to NAAS Chase Field in Beeville where her father Commander Sims was now the Executive Officer of the base. While in Beeville Kathleen worked for the US Civil Service and was also an American Red Cross Volunteer.
In 1967 Kathleen met Captain Russ Williamson, USMC at a local Corvette show. Russ was already a decorated Vietnam Veteran at this time. Kathleen and Russ married at the Chase Field Chapel and their first son James “Jimmy” Russell was born in May 1968. In late 1969 Kathleen and her new family moved to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro in Orange County, California. While in El Toro, Kathleen appeared on The Hollywood Squares game show.
In 1971 Kathleen and Jimmy joined her parents in the Raleigh community of Memphis where her parents settled, after her father retired from the Navy (having his last duty at NAS Millington). Beginning in February 1972 she worked downtown at the 100 North Main building with Apperson, Crump, Duane and Maxwell - the oldest continuously operating law firm in Memphis. As a legal secretary and receptionist with customer contact, she developed proficiency in legal documentation and executive secretarial skills, maintained the legal library and was responsible for a complex file system.
In 1972 Kathleen also met her soulmate Emmett Wilson on a blind date set up by her sister Eileen and Emmett’s sister Susan, who were both lifeguards at Memphis State University. Kathleen and Jimmy were now living in the Whitehaven community, while Emmett was still attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville after his US Army service. Kathleen and Emmett frequently sent loving, flowery letters to each other from across the state.
Kathleen and Emmett married in July 1973 at Colonial Park United Methodist Church in East Memphis. In August 1974 Kathleen, Emmett and Jimmy moved to a new subdivision in Hickory Hill outside the city. She also departed Apperson Crump that August to focus on raising her soon-to-be growing family. Her second son Emmett Lee was born in October 1974.
From February 1977 to May 1982 Kathleen worked as a secretary and receptionist at Elkington & Keltner Real Estate, Inc. She provided customer relations, bookkeeping support and secretarial support including computer-oriented data input and retrieval. In the late 1970s Kathleen also did some modeling work, appearing in print advertisements for Coppertone, Goldsmith’s department store and for her employer Elkington & Keltner.
In August 1982 Kathleen joined M&M Mars as a sales merchandiser for candy and other confections. She called on sundry shops and grocery, drug, convenience and variety stores in the Midsouth region and was selling displays, rotating product and replenishing stock. She also conducted sales presentations for new products and programs to local and regional store managers. Kathleen received several commendations from the M&M Mars corporate headquarters in Hackettstown, New Jersey.
In August 1985 Emmett and Kathleen were involved in a major automobile accident when they were heading home one night on Hickory Hill Road, which was then a two-lane county road that was hilly and without streetlights. They hit an outrigger of a public utility truck that was encroaching from the opposing traffic lane. She was severely injured and had to take a leave of absence from M&M Mars to recover, with multiple surgeries required.
In the Fall of 1986 Kathleen embarked on a new path with the Shelby County Schools system, which would ultimately be the most rewarding and satisfying part of her career. From 1986 to 1999 she worked in the front office at Ross Elementary School in Hickory Hill, and from 1999 to 2006 she worked at Schilling Farms Middle School in Collierville. At various times she was a Clerical Assistant, Secretary or Attendance Secretary. She interacted with students every day and just from these brief encounters she made quite an impression on them, as they did on her. After twenty years of service Kathleen left the Shelby County Schools due to disability, but kept in touch with coworkers and associates long after she retired.
In Memphis Kathleen got closer to her parents again, not just physically but lovingly as they truly became friends, and she helped care for them as they advanced in age. She often visited her son Jim’s family in Chattanooga and her siblings on the West Coast, and they reciprocated in kind. She also had plenty of family in or near Memphis with Emmett’s parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Kathleen tirelessly supported her sons Jim and Lee with all their schoolwork as they progressed to high school and college, and other youth activities such as soccer, Germantown Track Club, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. The Wilson family had several dogs including the protective Babe, a black and tan coonhound; but Kathleen especially loved her two youngest “children,” the friendly but precocious wire-haired fox terriers, Allie and then Maggie.
Kathleen enjoyed spending time with friends wherever she lived, but it was a major challenge while moving around the military circuit, courtesy of the US Navy and US Marine Corps. Once settled in Memphis she forged long-lasting friendships, from her neighborhood to beyond. She played cards with the Bunco group, retreated to Savannah, Tennessee with the “Pickwick Chicks” and escaped to Destin, Florida with the “Ya Ya’s.”
Kathleen played some tennis and went to water aerobics, but her favorite activity was going to the beach or pool whenever she got the chance, perfecting the art and science of sunbathing. She also enjoyed maritime cruising with Emmett and their friends, and with the Sims family in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Alaska and along the Mexican Riviera. Once her first grandson was born Kathleen and Emmett also hosted annual trips to the beaches along Highway 30A in Florida with their sons Jim and Lee, and their respective families as they grew.
Kathleen was famously a highly skilled shopper and visited almost every imaginable mall or standalone store in the Memphis area, browsed through dozens upon dozens of mail-order catalogs and later perused all the online options. She looked forward to the Pink Palace Crafts Fair every year, and later put her shopping acumen to use for charity by securing highly sought auction items for the annual Red Cross Boa Ball. Although she shopped for herself to be fashionable, she got the most enjoyment from thoughtful gifts to her beloved family and friends. All were accompanied by well-crafted greeting cards or notes, with the writing often spilling onto multiple pages or even to the outside envelope. Her penchant for shopping increased with every new family member, especially her nieces and nephews, her daughters-in-law Lydia and Colleen, and her four grandsons. Birthdays and holidays were always a special time with Kathleen, not just because of the material gifts, which were always appreciated, but because of the unconditional love and smiles involved. The best gift was just being with her in person or in spirit.
A Celebration of Life in Kathleen Wilson’s honor will be held on Thursday, August 15, 2024, with a reception from 5:00 to 6:00 PM and personal tributes to follow at 6:00 PM, both at the University Club of Memphis, 1346 Central Avenue, in Memphis, TN.
The interment-of-ashes service will be held on Friday, August 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, 4000 Forest Hill Irene Road in Memphis, TN.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be considered to your choice of the following:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
(https://michaeljfox.org)
Arthritis Foundation
(http://arthritis.org)
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