J. Douglas Wilson ’59

Doug died July 7, 2022, of complications due to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Born in Morganton, N.C., he graduated from Woodberry Forest School, where he played football, baseball, and wrestled. At Princeton, he was a varsity wrestler, played 150-pound football, and held several undergraduate offices including vice president of the freshman and senior classes, president of the sophomore class, vice chairman of the ICC, secretary-treasurer of the UGC, and president of Cottage Club. He majored in Spanish.

Upon graduation, he served as an officer in the Navy, where he was stationed at Guantánamo Bay. After his naval service he returned to academia and obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School. He then began an extensive career in the furniture industry working for Henredon Furniture and later in the development and management of furniture showrooms in High Point, N.C.

In 1994, Doug assumed U.S. expatriate status, becoming a citizen of Nevis. He became passionate about land conservation and the preservation of wildlife, concentrating his efforts in South Africa, Bolivia, and the Bahamas.

Doug is survived by his three children, Anne Wilson Payne, James Jr., and Daniel.