Obituary of Harold Lee Wilson

Harold Lee Wilson Obituary Our beloved husband, dad, and grandfather, Harold Lee Wilson, passed away of congestive heart failure four days short of his 90th birthday. He was excitedly looking forward to a special 90th birthday celebration so he could greet and share memories with many of his family, students, ex-athletes, and friends. First and foremost Harold was a man whose family meant everything to him. But he was more than that as noted by a family friend: He was multifaceted—a real Renaissance man – kind, helpful and loving. All the family benefited from his ‘can do’ attitude and problem solving skills. He was one who made things happen.” Harold loved his home town of Shelton where he was born and spent his entire life except for a four year undergraduate stint at Whitman College where he also worked fulltime, was a four-year varsity football player, and began his family all while graduating on time with his class. He returned home to begin a teaching career in 1951 at his alma mater, Shelton Junior and Senior High Schools. During his 26 year career in the school district he also coached football and basketball, creating many lasting bonds with multiple cohorts of athletes. He then began his second career as a real estate entrepreneur, buying vacant land around Shelton and building single family residences. Until just a few years ago when he underwent a heart valve replacement he routinely worked six days a week to maintain his investments and even just a few days ago snuck away to check on a leaky toilet. When not building or landscaping his properties or spending time with family he loved supporting his local Washington Huskies and escaping to Maui during the coldest winter months, snorkeling all the secret haunts around the island. Harold is survived by his wife, Merle, of 69 years, even though he spent the original savings for an engagement ring on an airplane. Merle and Harold raised three sons -- Bruce (Sylvia) from the Philadelphia area with two sons – Jason and Nicholas with great-grandchildren Ella, Brayden, Ethan, Juliana, and Juliet; Brad (Marty) with four sons – Scott, Stuart, Taft, Story and Salem, and daughters Telissa and Season with great-grandchildren Camden, Harper, Elyn, Sawyer, Ander, Khloe, Steele, and Ula; Brian (Bobbie) from Shelton with a son, Matt, and daughter, Molly; and their daughter, Brenda Dehning (Brent), also of Shelton with two daughters, Haylee and Kelsie and one son, Trey. The Shelton contingent all live on adjacent properties originally developed by Harold and his two local sons, Brad and Brian. His greatest joys in later life involved celebrating the accomplishments of this growing family (14 adoring grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren) and hearing first-hand from each of them about their challenges and successes. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations be directed to Providence St. Peter Foundation, 413 Lilly Road NE, Olympia, WA 98506