Sunny Wilson

Sunny Wilson learned early to confront difficulties head on and make the best of every opportunity. One of her first lessons in “rolling with the punch,” to use her words, was riding horse back alone across the New Mexico prairie several miles to the nearest school house - by age eight. The next year, her little sister rode behind her, holding on for dear life when they occasionally met up with one of those new machines that Sunny thoroughly despised — a car. Both sisters held their breath for fear the horse would get spooked and throw them off.

She later made friends with those new contraptions when her widowed mother purchased a used red pickup truck to serve as the family car and haul farm supplies. Friends have been entertained for decades when she regaled them with the story about the first time they drove their new prize into town after about two hours of ownership. The seller of the vehicle had shown them how to start the pickup and a brief lesson in changing gears, but he forgot about reverse. When they got into town, they drove around several different blocks several different times trying to figure out a way to park near the store and then leave without having to back up. This was long before driving classes were part of everyone’s education. When you bought a car, you went to a lonely dirt road and started driving the thing until you got up enough nerve to face the possibility of meeting another car on the road.

High school was a dream for Sunny and her three best friends who often entertained themselves by looking for ways to have fun without spending any money. One way that grew more popular each year was to help Walter Fairweather finish his dishwashing chores at his family’s boarding house. Nobody has ever relished washing and drying dishes for crowds. But somehow, it turned into a special occasion if several friends joined in to help a star football player finish his chore early so everyone could go for a drive, gather to play records, or just have a sing-a-long.

It was so much fun that during their senior year, Walter and Effie C. ran off to get married in Ruidoso, NM, with the gang’s approval and cooperation. Later, the other couples did the same thing. No one could afford a wedding, so without notification, preparation, approval, or fanfare, they married. Yet not one of the four couples ever divorced or seemed unhappy with their choices.

Tragedy struck in the summer of 1946 when a Piper Cub went down, killing the pilot and Walter. One of the widows, Sunny, now had three children. There was no time to grieve because she needed to earn money immediately just to put food on the table. A kind neighbor began tutoring her in shorthand and typing and within two months a local business man hired her as his assistant.

After a couple of years, she noticed that nearly everyone she really admired had a college education. That became her new goal. She saved money like a miser, then applied to Howard Payne College in Texas because she could live in her mother’s rent house there, if she just painted and repaired it.

She became so excited about the new possibilities that she regularly took an overload of courses and went to summer school. Soon she had enough credits to major in both speech and elementary education while minoring in business and English. Amazingly, she accomplished both degrees while rearing three children and working part time to make expenses. Scholarships also helped and inspired family members generously contributed whatever else was needed to keep her in school.

After graduation, Sunny and her kids moved to Dallas where she taught in the same school that Bonnie and Clyde had attended. The student body was from the wrong side of the tracks and most of the children hated school. Yet, Sunny made a point of teaching them to recite and memorize poetry. She gave them a chance to perform on stage for the first time. Her determination to help them realize that attitude is far more important than bank account or social status was the basis for her success. In other words, face your problems and make the best of every opportunity.

The second semester of that first year of teaching was marred by a three month bout with hepatitis that flattened her bank account, even as house and car payments loomed and the pantry emptied. Family helped by sending what they could, a Sunday School class brought meals and groceries every week, a Sunday School teacher purchased clothes for her youngest son, friends from New Mexico passed a hat and then drove thirteen hours one way to deliver the collection. Instead of standing in line to receive government benefits, Sunny and her children received the kind of help that says, “You are important and I believe in you” — the very best kind of welfare.

The next year, Sunny taught school while selling Home Interiors gifts on the side. In nine months the side job worked so well that she quit teaching. Then Sunny became so successful she advanced to working as Mary Crowley’s (the founder and president) assistant.

A few years later, her daughter introduced her to Ralph Wilson of Temple, Texas. She later said that Ralph made her feel like Cinderella while he appreciated her love and ability to bring out the best in every person she met. After a long distance courtship, they married and moved to Temple.

Sunny Wilson soon fell in love with Temple and chose to stay there even after Ralph’s death. She became active in civic and charitable opportunities too numerous to mention.

She remained a member of First Baptist Church, served as board member of Ralph Wilson Youth Club, president of Temple City Federation of Women’s Clubs, board member of Christian Farms, Mary Hardin Baylor University, and the Junior League. She

was active in Arno Arts, the Bell County Museum, the Antique Glass Club, Railroad and Pioneer Museum, as well as volunteering to record books for the blind at the Temple Library.