Kenneth Vincent Wilson

1929 - 2024

Kenneth Vincent Wilson, a decorated U.S. Air Force Colonel who traveled the world with his wife and seven children, died at peace at the VA Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was 94. Services will be held Saturday, August 10, 2024, at Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church, 130 Baronne Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. Visitation will be 10:00 -11:00 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. Father Anthony McGinn, S.J. will officiate. Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home has been entrusted with his services. Born in Elmira, New York, in 1929, Wilson, the youngest of four children, grew up in Queens during the Depression. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school eventually making his way to West Point, where he graduated in 1955. One of the most pivotal moments in his life came when he met his future wife, Helen Belli. It was love at first sight, Wilson would always say, of their blind date, which took place at an apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan in 1953. While Wilson finished his senior year, Helen, who hailed from Nicaragua, traveled through Europe with her parents. "I think her mother and father were impressed with the continuous flow of love letters between us," Wilson said. They were married at West Point the day after he graduated. From his first job at a German delicatessen in New York City, to flying top secret missions in Vietnam and Cambodia, Wilson's zest for life was only topped by the love he had for his wife, whom he was married to for 69 years. A pilot who flew 10 different aircrafts, a man with an engineering mindset and an intellectual curiosity that knew no bounds, Wilson also had an observant eye for the quirks of human behavior and a dry and mischievous sense of humor. He was not a man to boast about his military exploits, in fact, few knew that he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross medal, the nation's highest aviation honor for "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight." Over the course of his 22-year Air Force career, Wilson was posted to 15 U.S. military bases in 6 countries-from Athens, Greece to Bangkok, Thailand to the Panama Canal. He retired in 1977 after ultimately serving as base commander at Hill in Ogden, Utah. Wilson then continued his career managing large operations for international companies abroad, including stints in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Diego Garcia and the Philippines. Military achievements aside, Wilson was first and foremost a devoted husband and father. He was a man with a sharp wit, a keen mind and an effortless charm. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of most academic subjects which he tirelessly tried to convey to his children. The father of five daughters, he was at heart a feminist who instilled in them confidence, ambition and strength, juxtaposed with empathy. To his two sons, the idea of honor and steadfastness. While countless moves and travels may have defined his life, the moments in between, with his wife and children, anchored him. The days out on the boat, the fishing, the water skiing. The 'keep your skis together' motto he coined held fast for both skiing and for life. Wilson is survived by his wife, Helen, of New Orleans, and his seven children: Mercedes Wilson, of New Castle, CO; Mary Lightfoot (Claude), of New Orleans; Eleanor Ray (David), of Fort Worth, TX; Trish Wilson (Charles Fishman), of Washington, D.C.; Kenneth V. Wilson Jr., of Louisville, KY.; Peter Wilson (Lara), of Charleston, SC.; and Anamaria Wilson (Peter Liptrot), of New York, NY. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Gifts to Saint Clare's Monastery, 720 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118.