Peter James Wilson

Pete Wilson, age 94, died peacefully with his kids by his side on Aug. 26, 2015. He was born in Philadelphia on Feb. 21, 1921 the son of Ben and Mae Wilson.

Dad joined the Air Force when he turned 18 and proudly served his country for over 21 years as an airplane mechanic and flight crew chief. He was a veteran of both WWII and the Korean War.

He married Elaine Cleavenger after a six-week whirlwind courtship, and they were married for over 52 years. Through the hardship of overseas deployments and base assignments, there were a lot of fun times and great memories as they formed strong bonds and lifelong friendships with other young military families.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1960, the family moved to Elaine’s grandparents home on Edgecliff Drive in Langley. Pete went to work for Boeing for a few years and retired from WSF in 1982. Soon after this retirement, Pete and Elaine started their snow bird life in Yuma, Arizona, and a few years later purchased a home in Needles, Calif., where Elaine had lived as a teenager.

Dad’s lifelong love of the game of golf started with his first job in high school as a caddy at Merion Golf Course near Philadelphia, and throughout his military career he was in many tournaments representing the Air Force and his country. He had a lot of great stories about his golfing adventures and the people he’d met along the way. He continued to golf twice a week at the Navy base until the age of 90, where he could still shoot his age and lower! Did we mention how much he loved golf? He was also a lifetime member of the American Legion.

Pete is survived by his children, Jimelaine (Dick) Gabelein, and Mike (Donna) Wilson; grandchildren, Kim (Scott) Deckwa, Jeff (Misty) Gabelein, Jonny and Tony Wilson; great-grandchildren, Kelsi, Natalie, Kamryn and Kash. He was preceded in death by his granddaughters Kelli Gabelein and Julee Wilson.

He was also preceded in death by Elaine Wilson in 1998 and Dolores Wetterauer Wilson in 2004.

The family wants to give a huge thank you to his wonderful neighbors Janet and Robert, his caregivers at Careage and the staff of Whidbey General.

A private family gathering will be held at a later date.