Thomas Lee Wilson ’44

In our 50th yearbook, Tom noted that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; he dealt with it until he died in Ormond Beach, Fla., on Dec. 4, 2000.

President of his class at Windber H.S. in Pennsylvania, Tom majored in politics at Princeton until he enlisted in the Air Corps in Feb. 1942; he retired from the Air Force in 1967 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. A flight instructor during WWII, he was assigned to the Pentagon and then earned three Battle Stars as a captain in Korea; he spent six years in Japan.

He married Betty Eldredge in 1953 and got his BA at the U. of Maryland and a master's at Pittsburgh. They moved to Ormond Beach in 1967, where he taught for almost 20 years at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U. and served as an academic dean.

Tom and Betty were avid golfers and tennis players and traveled widely in retirement To Betty and their children, Pam, Elizabeth, Tom W., and David, and to his grandchildren, the class extends deep sympathy.

The Class of 1944