Roy Kenneth Wilson

Roy K. Wilson, 95, a retired educator, journalist, and consultant, died at University Hospital in Augusta, GA on Sunday, September 21, 2008. A native of Charleston, IL, he was a 1936 graduate of Eastern Illinois University, received a masters degree from the University of Illinois, and did additional graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Maryland. In 1959, he received an honorary doctorate from Glassboro State College in New Jersey in recognition of his service to education. Mr. Wilson began his professional career as the first Director of Public Relations and Alumni Services at Eastern Illinois University. Following his service in the US Navy in World War II, he accepted a position with the National Education Association in Washington, DC where he later became Director of Press, Radio and Television. In 1947, he was one of the seven founders of the Education Writers Association when it was organized to help the nation’s news media improve coverage of education. In 1968, he left the NEA to become the first Executive Director of the National School Public Relations Association until his retirement in 1976. In 1973, he was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Educational Research Service which was organized to provide assistance to 2,500 school systems across the United States. Following his retirement from NSPRA, he was a consultant for the Educational Research Service and organized over fifty national conferences. His professional memberships included the Public Relations Society of America, Education Writers Association, National School Public Relations Association, the American Association of School Administrators, and the National Press Club. On August 19, 1939, he married the former Ruth Royce in Charleston, IL. Mr. Wilson and his wife lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, for over forty years prior to moving to Aiken, SC in 1984. In 1991, they moved to Brandon Wilde in Evans, GA. Always involved in the communities in which they resided, Mr. Wilson was a former member of the Charleston, IL Rotary Club and the Aiken Kiwanis Club, where he edited the newsletter for over two years. He was a founder of the Academy of Lifelong Learning at USC Aiken. At Brandon Wilde, he developed the SPECTRA series of programs for the residents and served as a member of the Resident Council. At the time of his death, Mr. Wilson was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Evans. Mr. Wilson is survived by his wife, Ruth Royce Wilson. Additional survivors include his nieces, Diane Paull of Miami, FL; Barbara Lumley and Sharon Wilson, both of Rio Rancho, NM; and Mary Ann M. Tucker of Paris, IL; and his nephews, Fred Wilson, Jr. and William Wilson, both of Albuquerque, NM; William H. Tucker of Aiken, SC; T. Bradley Tucker of Chrisman, IL; and Dr. Andrew M. Tucker of Timonium, MD. He was predeceased by his son, Robert Royce Wilson, and his daughter-in-law, Ann Oberlink Wilson, both of whom died in an automobile accident in 1966. He was also predeceased by a brother, Fred Wilson, and a sister, Helen Paull. Memorial services will be scheduled at a date to be announced. Private burial services will be conducted at Mount Comfort Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Eastern Illinois University Foundation for inclusion in the Roy K. Wilson Endowed Scholarship Fund, 860 West Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920; the Wesley United Methodist Church, 825 North Belair Road, Evans, GA 30809; the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation-Aiken Partnership, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC 29801; or the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, Post Office Box 1702, Aiken, SC 29802. Posey Funeral Directors of North Augusta in charge of arrangements (803-278-1181). Visit the registry online at www.poseyfuneralhome.com

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Roy Kenneth Wilson

July 9, 1913 - September 21, 2008