John M. Wilson II

Died suddenly and peacefully at home on December 9 2023 aged 81 years.
John was born in Virginia to John and Phyllis (nee Wilkins) where John was stationed in the Army. They returned to upstate New York to Macedon where the family grew to eight; John being the eldest of seven boys and one girl. He attended elementary school in Macedon including years taught by his grandmother Pearl in a one room schoolhouse. He graduated from Pal Mac High School where he played football and, by all accounts, was perhaps not always as focused on school as he was at having a hell of a good time.
John attended Wagner University in Staten Island and was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi. There he met his first wife Laila who recalled that John was naturally smart, got by with little study and was so messy none of the other frat brothers wanted to bunk with him. After graduation John attended Brooklyn Law School where he turned his attention fully to study and graduated with honors, passing the Bar and becoming a lawyer like his father and grandfather before him. John and Laila moved to Albany where he clerked for an Appellate Court Judge and where his daughter Trina was born before they moved to the Rochester area. Their son Micah was born in Rochester and Dad realized eventually that he had to give up motorcycling up muddy hills in Palmyra.
John was in commercial litigation where he quickly became renowned for his brilliant writing and arguments on motions before judges. He was a founding partner of the law firm Beyma, Brown, Code, Lumsden, Randall and Wilson. There in the 1980s, John handled some of the firm's most complex litigation and successfully challenged a case using the state's newly established law requiring environmental impact statements prior to major developments. The case was a watershed moment in the burgeoning field and established the firm's environmental division. He was retained by Wayne, Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties to guide them through the creation of public authorities to establish waste management facilities, a complex process which withstood several legal challenges. He soon became the lawyer of choice for New York municipalities involved in large scale development projects. John was a brilliant writer with a sharp, quick mind and was admired (maybe even a little feared) for the ferocity of his red pen edits on others' drafts. He mentored other younger lawyers who rose to their own formidable careers including Judges - one of whom, Paul Warren, included a footnote about John in one of his published rulings calling John "a talented litigator accomplished artist, writer and chef".
John met his second partner Dory Driss on a blind date and they were together for the next 40 years. Dory and John were both creative and bought an old fixer upper in the city where they lived for decades before moving to Pultneyville, NY where they ran a side hustle- in addition to their law and teaching careers- running a bed and breakfast named Captain Throop House for several years. They eventually moved back to Rochester and also fell in love with Mexico making many trips there over the years and building a house in Mazunte on the coast where they planned to travel after retirement. dory died in 2014 and John was grief-stricken. He bought a Casita campervan and he and his beloved Bernese Mountain dog Moses hit the road and traveled across the USA before he decided to move to Portland Oregon at 72 years old. There, he had a ball: taking dance classes, downhill skiing, kayaking and group bike riding. He embraced this new adventure and even went to Burning Man in 2017. After Covid, John realized he needed to be closer to family and returned, somewhat reluctantly, to Rochester in 2022 where he loved spending time with his brothers Doug and Steve and setting up his new little house with art.
John was an artist himself and gypsy at heart. He had to don business suits and briefcases for work and continued to excel until he retired as a lawyer but he was also a creative soul who loved to make things from pottery to stained glass to shaker boxes to finally having a welding studio where he made sculptures out of found objects and metal which can be found in public and private gardens from Australia to Portland.
He was an incredible cook and had hundreds of cookbooks in his collection. He loved to think about menus and shop for excellent ingredients once telling his daughter there were two kinds of people in the world: those who thought about what they were eating for dinner when they woke up in the morning and those who didn't. He loved fine wines and collected these for many years before realizing they may not always love him back. He quit drinking in 2017.
His nose was often in a book, he was a voracious and fast reader, or a copy of the New Yorker magazine and often had to be roused from reading with repeated loud calls of his name so great was his focus. His children and dory had to remind him not to act like a lawyer at the dinner table. He loved a good joke and had a razor sharp wit- woe betide anyone if they found themselves on the withering end of a quick retort from John.
Hugely generous, he loved to help others and was more than once a benefactor to someone, undertaking this quietly and with no expectation of anything in return. He adored art, music (Bob Dylan was a favorite), traveling (including five trips to Australia to visit his daughter), good food, talking about politics and current events, his dogs, camping, conversation and new adventures. He adored his grandchildren who lived with Micah in Florida.
Brave, creative, kind, curious, fiercely intelligent, sometimes stubborn, always generous, hilarious, tenacious and especially in the last few years, the gentlest of men, John will be deeply, sorely missed by all who knew, loved and respected him.
Predeceased by his wife dory driss, brothers Dennis, Charles and Peter Wilson. Survived by his children Micah and Trina Wilson (Dean Logan), his grandchildren by Micah- Morgan, Max and John Wilson; siblings Douglas (Virginia Cassetta), Steve (Heide) Wilson, Patricia (David) Johnson, Ted (Teresa) Wilson and numerous nieces and nephews.
Friends may call Friday, Dec. 22nd, 4-6 PM at the funeral home (2305 Monroe Ave.). Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to a charity of your choice.