George Wilson, 93, of Monroe Township, passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday September 4 with family by his side. George was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn Wilson, and is survived by his children, Brett and Ward Wilson, and grandchildren, Emily and Kori Bloom.
George was born in Minneapolis, MN, on October 30, 1930 to Edmund and Lillian Wilson. He graduated from Shattuck School in 1948 and served in the U.S. Air Force (1952-54) at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX, where his daughter was born. He and several others formed a flying club and he enjoyed flying the small planes the club purchased — flying across country to Florida and Minnesota with his wife and small daughter.
After his service, he worked for Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, OH, where his son was born. Following a move to New Jersey, he worked the remainder of his career in advertising, commuting from Princeton to New York City. After “retiring” he owned one of the 10 largest record auctions in the world — specializing in jazz 78s from the ’20s,’30s, and ’40s. At one time his personal collection topped 20,000 records.
He and Carolyn lived in Princeton until her death in 2017. Since then he lived an active life at Rossmoor, playing golf, bocce ball, participating in plays, swimming, and attending discussion groups. He always had a smile, a friendly word, and a joke ready.
A memorial celebration will be held at the Rossmoor Meeting House in Monroe Township on Wednesday September 11 at 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions be made to one of George’s favorite groups, New Jersey Jazz Society, online at njjs.org/donate or by check mailed to: New Jersey Jazz Society / Mike Kats, Treasurer, 382 Springfield Avenue, Suite 217, Summit, NJ 07091.
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