Thomas P. “Tom” Wilson, 69, of Fenelton, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Monday morning, April 16, 2018 shortly after his arrival in the emergency department at Butler Memorial Hospital.
Thomas was born in Butler on February 25, 1949. He was the son of the late Paul F. and Ruth A. Graham Wilson.
Tom was a 1967 graduate of Butler High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1969 to 1973 and was a proud Vietnam veteran. He was a member of American Legion Post #778 in Lyndora and a life member of VFW Post #249 in Butler. Tom enjoyed golfing and was well known by family and friends for “always tinkering” around the house and having the mechanical ability to “fix all things.” He relished his role as the family patriarch. He was a loving husband, a proud dad and an adoring papa.
He retired from INDSPEC Chemical Corp. in Petrolia following 36 years of service.
He is survived by his wife, Kelly L. Slagle Wilson, whom he married in Bruin on June 27, 1987. The couple renewed their wedding vows at St. John Church in Coylesville in 1998. Surviving are three children, Daniel T. Wilson and his wife, Aimee, of Emmaus; Allyson C. Graef and her husband, Joshua, and Larry P. Wilson; two grandchildren, John H. and Tyler I. Graef, all of Fenelton; three brothers, David, Donald, and James Wilson, all of Fenelton; seven sisters, Janet Smink of Saxonburg, Linda Shuler and her husband, James of Butler, his twin, Gertrude McPherson of Chicora, Rose Wilson and Donna Wilson of Fenelton, Rita Demarest of Victor, Idaho, and Ruth Turner of Butler; a sister-in-law, Lori Roxbury and her husband, James Patrick, of Butler; very special friends, Cal, Michele, Skylar and Landis Ruth, as well as a number of nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, William “Billy” Wilson and Paul Wilson; two sisters, Mary Wilson and Nora Eppinger; two brothers-in-law, Charles McPherson and Dewayne Turner; a nephew, Brian Demarest; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Larry “Nerp” and Norma Johns Slagle.
Friends will be received at the Hile Funeral Home of Chicora, 339 Chicora Fenelton Rd., Chicora, from 1 – 3 and 6 – 9 Thursday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Friday from St. John The Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 668 Clearfield Rd., Fenelton, with the Rev. Matt McClain, church pastor, officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Full military honors will be accorded by the Lyndora and Butler American Legion Posts and the Butler VFW Post. Memorial contributions can be made in memory of Thomas P. Wilson to the local Wounded Warrior Chapter “It’s About the Warrior”: https://iatw.us/get-involved/ or IATW Foundation, 133 Woodcrest Road Butler, PA 16002. For additional information or to send a condolence, please visit www.hilefh.com.