THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250417
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
He was an avid researcher into his family's Scottish-Irish roots.
An easy conversationalist who could switch from stereo equipment to gardening to church hymns.
A meticulous wordsmith who consulted the dictionary at the slightest question of usage.
But above all, William M. Wilson was a quiet, gentle soul who blended a love for academia with a deep religious faith and helped create an atmosphere of calm and civility at Virginia Wesleyan College, colleagues recalled Tuesday.
Wilson, 64, the vice president of academic affairs and dean of the college since 1971, was killed in an automobile accident on his way home from church on Christmas. On Tuesday, nearly 800 professors, students and friends attended a memorial service for him.
``He was a comfort in the finest sense of the word,'' said Wesleyan's president, William T. ``Billy'' Greer Jr. ``He had a peacefulness about him, and he brought that peacefulness into every situation. And in so doing, we found a deeper level of peace ourselves.''
After the service, professors described Wilson as an extraordinary bridge-builder who never raised his voice or lost his cool.
``He was the father of mediation before mediation was the `in' word,'' said Dot Hinman, director of adult studies. ``. . . He had a beautiful way of helping people reach consensus.''
William M. Jones, a political science professor, recalled the times he would go to Wilson's office, agitated by a problem with a student or with a course. ``He would say, `Wait a minute, Bill; let's take a look at this.' By the end of the conversation, we would have a reasonable solution. I always left his office feeling calm.
``It is my prayer that the college will retain that sense of mutual respect and thoughtfulness that he brought to every encounter.''
George Farrugia, a 1992 graduate, said Wilson was as accessible to students as he was to faculty. ``He was very interested in engaging students in conversation,'' said Farrugia, who remembered seekingWilson's advice about law school. ``He kind of felt a part of each of our educations.''
With a steady hand, Wilson helped shape Wesleyan's academic path during the early years of the Methodist-affiliated college.
The Rev. Roy P. White, a Methodist minister who was a 1973 graduate, praised him during the service for not yielding to some board members who wanted a curriculum focused on religion at the expense of liberal-arts studies.
Wilson also encouraged the growth of interdisciplinary courses and adult studies, not universally supported at first. ``He was kind of a hero, our white knight,'' Hinman said.
Wilson came to Wesleyan from Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where he had been a chaplain and chairman of the department of religion and philosophy. He also was a Methodist minister who regularly spoke in local churches.
``Students here might say about him: `His life was together,' '' Greer said at the service. ``Bill Wilson saw no conflict over possessing a keen intellect on one hand and a strong faith on the other. Both existed beautifully, magnificently in his life.''
Wilson, who loved music, occasionally sang with the Wesleyan choir. During the service, the choir sang one of his favorites, an excerpt from Gabriel Faure's ``Requiem,'' in Latin. The translation, in English, reads:
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon them. . . .
Hear my prayer,
for unto thee all flesh shall come. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Nearly 800 professors, students and friends of William M. Wilson
attended a memorial service Tuesday for the former Virginia Wesleyan
College official. He was killed in an automobile accident while
returning home from church last Christmas.
Photo
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITIES by CNB