Maurice “Maury” Norman Wilson left us peacefully with family present on Dec. 20, 2023, at the age of 96 in Ridgefield, Washington.
He was preceded in death by his two brothers, Jim and Duane, and a son, Russell. Maury was an example and role model to his family and a friend to all he met. He was an amazing husband, dad, brother, grandfather and great-grandfather. He had seven children, 25 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren (with two on the way) who absolutely adored him.
Maury joined the military at the age of 17 and spent the next 23 years traveling the world and raising a family. He was stationed in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Italy and many bases in the U.S. Our family joined him in Italy and the U.S. bases until he retired in 1967. He then moved to Vancouver, Washington, to raise his family and adjust to civilian life. He completed another career working for the City of Portland for 20 years.
Softball was Maury’s passion! He played most of his life, from 17 years of age until 85. He played fastpitch softball in the service and transitioned to slow pitch after leaving the military. He was an outstanding short stop and enjoyed the role of cleanup batter. At the age of 60, he began his next venture in softball, joining a senior league that traveled throughout the U.S. playing in tournaments and amassing a collection of championship rings. The ultimate goal was to keep playing until he had seven championship rings, one for each child. Once that was achieved, he retired from the game.
Maury was known for his sense of humor; he had a quick wit that kept everyone laughing and waiting for the punchline. This continued into his last days. His attentiveness to others and gratitude for life was exemplified on his best and worst of days. He always asked how you were doing and thanked you for taking the time to visit. He was grateful for every day and every visit, especially if it included a head massage.
Maury gave every family member a nickname. Ask any one of them and they will tell you theirs. We can go on about all the great things he impacted in our lives, but the greatest accomplishment was being a loving father and role model for his children, who all grew to be good people with loving families.
Maury is survived by his wife of 40 years, Linda; his brother, Lanny, (Jane); and his children, Rich (Teri), Cathy (Jerry), Carol (Tracy), Cheryl, Debbie (Hal) and Owen (Ashleigh). Grandchildren and great-grandchildren are too many to list.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 10, 2024, at Kessid Columbia Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Vancouver Metro Senior Softball Association, P.O. Box 61936, Vancouver, WA, 98666. This is an organization that he was passionate about and very involved with.
