George Alan Wilson

Alan was a husband, father, grandfather, friend, teacher, scholar, writer, builder, sport enthusiast, canoe champion, and so much more. He was, in many ways, larger than life. He will be remembered with great fondness by his family and his many loyal students, colleagues, and friends, many of whom stayed in touch to the very end. We know there will be no dearth of stories about his exploits over the years— some hair-raising, some hilarious, some deeply moving.

Born in 1927, son of George and Margaret (Graham) Wilson of Dartmouth. He graduated from Dalhousie University (B.A., M.A.) and University of Toronto (Ph.D.). He taught at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, Acadia University, and Western University before arriving at Trent University in Peterborough in 1965 where he became founding Chair of the History Department and later of Trent’s Canadian Studies Programme. He was an active member of the Trent community and fulfilled a wide variety of roles over the years. A graduate student reading room and the Honours History Prize were named for him; and he received the Symons’ Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2009 an anonymous gift led to the Alan Wilson Graduate Student Entrance Scholarship in support of Trent graduate students in the Canadian Studies Ph.D., History M.A., and Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies M.A. graduate programs.

A Board member of the Canadian Historical Association, Alan lectured in Canada and far beyond. He wrote several books, many encyclopedia articles, and TV and radio scripts for CBC and The History Channel. On the Board of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Peterborough, he was proud to chair its first No-Smoking Committee and published a history of the hospital. In 2015, he published Highland Shepherd, a biography of James MacGregor.

After he retired to Nova Scotia, Alan was founding Chair of the Helen Creighton Foundation, and member and Chair of the South Shore Regional Library Board. He served as President of the Library Boards Association of N.S. and received its Distinguished Service Award. Until his late eighties, he taught with Elderlearners and then Seniors' College Association of Nova Scotia (SCANS).

Alan is pre-deceased by his beloved wife, writer Budge Wilson. He leaves to mourn two daughters, Glynis (Paul) of Red Deer, AB, and Andrea (Harold) of Sackville, N.B., and two grandchildren, Nicholas and Lucas. He also leaves caring friends Michael Colborne, Barbara Carter, and Kirsten Franklin who did so much for him during his final years. The family would like to thank the staff at Arborstone Enhanced Care for their attentive care over the past year and Parkland at the Gardens for their care previously.

A memorial celebration will be held for Alan and Budge at a later date, likely in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Ocean Swells Community Centre (Northwest Cove, NS); South Shore Public Libraries (Bridgewater, NS); an Alan Wilson scholarship or prize for Trent University students (Peterborough, ON); or Médecins Sans Frontières. Many thanks to the photographer Michael Cullen, for the photo of Alan.