July 8, 1927 — July 10, 2007
PAONIA — Longtime North Fork area resident, Gilbert Commodore Wilson, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 10, 2007, at the Paonia Care and Rehabilitation Center. He was 80 years of age.
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On July 8, 1927, Gilbert Commodore Wilson was born the son of Commodore and Inez (Stout) Wilson in Paonia, Colo. He grew up in Paonia and graduated from Paonia High School. Gilbert attended Ft. Lewis College in Durango prior to entering the United States Navy in 1945. After serving his country, he and his brother set up a blacksmithing shop in Paonia and worked in the family orchards. It was during this time that he met Marie Ray, the love of his life. They married on Aug. 28, 1949, at the First Christian Church in Paonia. During their nearly 58 years of marriage, they raised four children and enjoyed countless happy hours with them and their grandchildren.
Gilbert accomplished many tasks. He was involved in agricultural interests in the North Fork Valley, serving for years on the board of the Paonia Ditch Company and various other committees. As a member The Western Colorado Horticultural Society, he held numerous offices over the years. He and Marie owned Wilsons’ High Country Fruit and had orchards on Matthews Lane in Paonia. They overcame the loss of the historic downtown fruit packing shed after a devastating fire in 1986. Gilbert rebuilt the shed and continued to work with his family for several more years in the fruit business.
Some of his most cherished times were the trips that he and Marie took to his Gold Mine near Silverton. The couple loved to travel and visited Arizona, California, Alaska and numerous other states. An avid angler, Gilbert pulled many fish out of streams he discovered on their travels.
In March 2002, he sold the orchards and fruit packing business and retired. Gilbert and Marie were honored by the town of Paonia in 2005 as the Citizens of the Year.
Many people were touched in some way or another by his generosity and caring over the years. He spent many an hour solving the world’s problems while drinking coffee with good friends in the coffee shops of Paonia. Gilbert will be missed by all who knew him and remembered forever in our hearts.
Those grateful to have shared in Gilbert’s life include his loving wife, Marie Wilson, of Paonia, Colo.; four children and their spouses: Ralph and Sharon Wilson, of Eugene, Ore., Ray and Dolores Wilson, of Delta, Colo., Judy and Randall Thompson, of Grand Junction, Colo., Ron and Maxine Wilson, of Paonia, Colo. and two honorary sons: Chilo Montes and Pat Emmons, of Paonia He is further survived by nine grandchildren, four great-granddaughters and one great-grandchild is due in September. Brothers-in-law, Ralph (Merna) Ray, of Pea Green, Colo., and Keith Calhoun, of Ohio; sisters-in-law, Reva Braswell, of Texas, and Dorothy Wilson, of Medford, Ore.; as well as several nieces and nephews
Preceding him in death were his parents, his brother, Robert Wilson; his sister-in-law, Ellen Calhoun; sister-in-law, Fern (Harry) Taylor; and brother-in-law, Cliff Braswell.
In lieu of flowers, contributions, in memory o Gilbert Wilson, may be made to: Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado, P.O. Box 60307, Grand Junction, CO 81506 or Cooksons Hill Christian Ministry, Rt. No.3, Box 200, Kansas, OK 74347-9533 or Paonia Care and Rehabilitation Center, 1625 Meadowbrook Blvd., Paonia, CO 81428
Arrangements are under the care and direction of Taylor Funeral Service and Crematory.
View the internet obituary and sign the online guest registry at taylorfuneralservice.com.
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