ALBERT WILSON

WILSON, Albert Allen, M.D., 87, departed this life September 2, 2011. He was the first of four sons of C.L. and Kate Balkema Wilson of Lambert, Miss. Raised on Mimitala, a small farm in Mississippi, Albert was an energetic, loving, and helpful son and older brother. A gifted young student, his early academic achievements led him to Ole Miss University where he edited the campus newspaper while earning a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree, and his Medical Certificate. Albert then went on to attain his M.D. degree from the University of Tennessee Medical School in 1946. In the U.S. Army Air Corps, Captain Wilson, M.D., served as a Paratrooper Flight Surgeon in affiliation with the British Royal Air Force. After his service, Dr. Wilson moved to Florida and trained in Orthopedics at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. There he began an especially fulfilling association with the then Florida Crippled Children's Bureau treating handicapped children, a field in which he remained interested for the rest of his career. Duly certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, Dr. Wilson maintained a busy medical practice in Tampa, Florida for many years, eventually joining the Orthopedic Institute of the University of South Florida. He also established and edited the Journal of the Orthopedic Society of Florida which elected him its President. In addition to this honor, Dr. Wilson was a member of many organizations including the International Board of Surgeons, the Chi Phi Medical Fraternity, Omicron Delta Kappa, The Ole Miss Hall Of Fame, and was active in the Rotary Club. In his later years, Dr. Wilson retired to a quiet beachside refuge in Boca Grande, Fla., where he enjoyed fishing and creative writing, especially short stories about his life in the south. Dr. Wilson is survived by his wife of 64 years, Camylle Deeter Wilson; his daughter, Zibelle Hengstler and her husband, Dr. Dennis Hengstler; his son, Jim and his wife, Lynne Jenkins Wilson; and his beloved grandchildren, Olivia and Clark; as well as two surviving brothers, George and Dr. C. L. Wilson. Albert's brother, Robert, preceded him in death. These words from Thomas Wolfe's "You Can't Go Home Again" held special meaning for Albert during his long and courageous battle with his own cancer: "Something has spoken to me in the night, burning the tapers of the wanting year; something has spoken in the night, and told me I shall die, I know not where. Saying: 'To lose the earth you know, for greater knowing; to lose the life you have, for greater life; to leave the friends you loved, for greater loving; to find a land more kind than home, more large than earth -'Whereon the pillars of this earth are founded, toward which the conscience of the world is tending - a wind is rising, and the rivers flow." A memorial service will be held at the community center of The Timbers Condominiums on Beaverdam Road in Asheville, N.C. at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, September 17. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Asheville Youth Rowing Association, 523 Old Beaverdam Road, Asheville, NC 28804. Morris Funeral Home is assisting the family. Condolences may be sent through the website www.morrisfamilyfuneral home.com