Wilson died Nov. 28, 2020, at his home in Raleigh, N.C., from long-term health issues.
He was a member of Charter Club, a cellist in the University Orchestra, and a history major. He earned a law degree from UNC.
After a clerkship with the chief justice of
the North Carolina Supreme Court, he worked for the state attorney general’s office. In 1990 he joined Poyner Spruill in Raleigh, becoming
a partner and a nationally recognized health-care attorney.
Wilson was the longest-serving chancellor of the North Carolina United Methodist Church Conference, including three years as national president of the Council of Chancellors. His memorial service was broadcast from Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, where he had performed on the cello two weeks before in a virtual worship service.
Wilson chaired his local Alumni Schools Committee, served as treasurer of the Carolina Triangle Princeton Club, and was vice chair of the North Carolina Museum of History Foundation, which he helped to establish and incorporate.
The class extends its deepest sympathy to his wife, Jennie Jarrell Hayman; and their son, Wilson Whitford Hayman.