Robert K. Wilson

1929 - 2019

Robert K. Wilson, 90, of Elyria, died September 30, 2019. He was born May 31, 1929, in Elyria, was a lifelong resident, and a 1947 graduate of Elyria High School. He attended Kenyon College and received a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace College. Bob became charmed by the Great Lakes as a young man. During the summer of his junior and senior year of high school, he served on the crew of an ore carrier making runs between Duluth, Cleveland and Buffalo. As a member of Edgewater Yacht Club, he sailed the waters of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan with friends. He was also a member of the Great Lakes Historical Society. From 1947 to 1955, Bob served in the United States Naval Reserve. Bob was an insurance executive with Saddler-Wilson Insurance Company and Neale Phypers Insurance Agency and a past president of the Independent Insurance Agents Association of Lorain County. He was a former member of the Elyria Memorial Hospital Company and the Elyria Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. For many years, he served as a member and chairman of the Lorain County Republican Central and Executive Committees; from 1976 to 1996, he was a member of Ohio Republican State Central and Executive Committees for the 13th Congressional District; served as treasurer of the Ohio Republican Party and several times was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He was elected as a member and served as chairman of the Lorain County Board of Elections, and was president and appointed a life time member of the Ohio Election Officials Association. Bob was appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush to the National Advisory Council of the United States Small Business Administration. He was a life member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, sang in the choir, and served on the Vestry. He was a 68-year member of Elyria Lodge #787 F&AM and the Scottish Rite Valley of Cleveland. Bob is survived by sons, James (Hallie) Wilson of Delaware, OH and Jeffrey (Kim) Wilson of LaGrange, OH; daughter, Jennifer (Mark) Diederick of LaGrange, KY; and grandchildren, Nigel, Robin, Sarah, Griffin, and Justin. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Robert S. and Dorothy K. Wilson. Friends will be received Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of an 11:00 a.m. memorial service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 300 Third Street, Elyria with Reverend June Hardy Dorsey, Rector officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014. Arrangements are in the care of Dicken Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Elyria. For online condolences, visit: www.dickenfuneralhome.com.