Vernon Eugene Wilson

Depending on when you knew him, he was Vern, Gene, V.E., Dad or Pop. He was known as Vern in Center, Texas where he was born on August 1, 1917 to Henry Ashton and Phrone D. Wilson. He was the baby of the family, with two older brothers and an older sister, Ruth, who took care of him like a son. It was here in Center that he began a lifelong love of music. He would play guitar while sitting on the porch, entertaining his family and friends - and avoiding his turn in the cotton field.

Vern went to college at Stephen F. Austin University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1940. Following graduation in 1940, he joined the Army Air Corp Flying Cadet program. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in March 1942. In 1945, he was sent to Florida, which turned out to the luckiest post in his life. He met his beloved Ann Lee Myers when he was stationed at the Boca Raton Army Air Field. He always said it was love at first sight. That may explain why, after knowing each other barely three months, they married in March of 1946. Their romance may have been a whirlwind but it was a strong one - they had 63 wonderful years together.

Ann's family knew him as Gene, the dashing lieutenant who swept their daughter off her feet and took her halfway around the world. Mere months after their wedding, Gene was assigned to the 12th Tactical Air Command in Bad Kissingin, Germany. He was there from August 1946 - October 1947 and then went to Frstenfeldbruck from October 1947 - June 1948. Of historical note, the Army Air Corp became the United States Air Force (USAF) while Gene was serving in Germany and he received a regular commission into the USAF in October 1947. Those were amazing times for the young couple - they lived in a castle while at Bad Kissingin, they learned how to ski in the Bavarian Alps and they toured Europe from France to Austria to Hungary.

After being stationed in the lush green countryside of Germany, it seems almost cruel that their next assignment was in El Paso, Texas, which can be rather brown and dusty. But they were only there for a year before moving to Barksdale AFB in Bossier City, Louisiana. It was here that Gene became Dad, as his oldest daughter, Jayne, was born there.

They went back to Texas, Houston and Wichita Falls, and his second daughter was born a Texan in Wichita Falls. Throughout the remainder of his military career, he was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi; Osan AFB in Korea; the Office of the Inspector General in Washington, DC; Chanute AFB in Rantoul, IL; and finally, possibly their most beautiful assignment, Hickam AFB in Honolulu, Hawaii.

After retiring from the USAF in 1968, the family returned to Biloxi where they lived for 37 years. It was while he was here that he became Pop, as his granddaughter, Sara, and his two grandsons, Will and Ben, were born, and his retirement years were filled with school programs, soccer games and wonderful summer vacations.

V.E., as he was known to the editors of the Biloxi Sun-Herald, loved Biloxi politics and wrote many letters to the editor. He also took up golf as a very serious hobby and played several times a week. He won many amateur competitions and even made a couple holes in one. He taught Sara how to drive by letting her practice on the golf cart, followed by a Mello Yello at the clubhouse after a vigorous round of practice on the putting green and in the sand trap.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and its landfall near Biloxi shaped the rest of their lives. Vern and Ann had to evacuate to Texas, where their daughter Jayne was living near San Antonio. It was a homecoming for Vern, probably not the one he wanted, but it ended up bringing him full circle. He was born in Texas in 1917 and he died there in 2013, with his family by his side

Col. Wilson was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings and his wonderful wife Ann Myers Wilson. He is survived by his daughter Jayne Stewart and her husband, SMSgt Robert G. Stewart, USAF (Ret.) as well as his youngest daughter Sue McCullough and her husband, Russell. Vern cherished his time with his three grandchildren, Sara Piety, who inherited his love of travel, and Will McCullough and Ben McCullough, who inherited his love of music.

He will be remembered as a football fan (especially of the New Orleans Saints and the UT Longhorns) an avid golfer, a collector of caps, a lover of travel, a wonderful singer, a prolific writer, a father, a grandfather, and most importantly, a loving husband to his beautiful wife, Ann.

He will be missed.

GRAVESIDE SERVICE

TUESDAY

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

2:30 P.M.

FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

1520 HARRY WURZBACH