John Roderick Wilson

John Roderick Wilson passed away on April 24, 2017, two days after his 87th birthday. He died peacefully, surrounded by family. Born April 22, 1930, he was the son of the late William Wallace and Alice E. Corl Wilson. Raised in Garden City, New York, in high school he was a champion wrestler, all-star soccer player, and president of the student council. He graduated Colgate University ’52, Delta Kappa Epsilon. He later served on the Colgate Board of Trustees, the Alumni Council, and as a founding member and chairman of the Mu of DKE Foundation. From 1952-1957, John served in the U.S. Air Force as an F-86 and F-100 fighter pilot. Following his service, John worked 27 years in the radio broadcast industry in sales and management. Beginning in 1985, John directed his energies into private investing and philanthropy. He was a trustee of Piedmont College and the Atlanta International School, a fellow of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and a member of the Robert Burns Club of Atlanta. He was an enthusiastic Trustee of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. John was a member of the Golf Club of Georgia and of Aspenosium, a group of active duty and retired fighter pilots who met each winter in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As a member of the 130-year old St. Moritz Tobogganing Club, he rode the Cresta Run, a ¾ mile ice track with a 500-foot vertical drop, where in 2003, he won third place in the Seniors Cup.

John is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Audrey Lundell Wilson, of Sandy Springs, GA; his brother, Douglas Wilson, of Malden-on-Hudson, NY; daughters: Jennifer Sinek and her husband, Ronald, of Falls Church, VA, and Julianne Wilson, of Cleveland, GA; four grandchildren: Heather, Meg and Connor Sinek, and Lizz Holtz; and a great-grandson, Emmett Holtz.

In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by brother, David Wilson.

A memorial service will be held Friday at noon at Northwest Presbyterian Church (4300 Northside Dr. NW, Atlanta). His ashes will be interred at a later date at Colgate University.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the William W. Wilson Scholarship Fund at Colgate University (Colgate.edu, specify “W.W. Wilson Scholarship Fund”), or to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (cheetah.org).

Online condolences may be via the guestbook provided and to JRWCondolences@gmail.com.