Owls return to home in time for final farewell

Wilson, who was featured along with his wife, Helen, and their screech owl family in the July 12 Home + Life section of the Arizona Daily Star, died Monday from complications from heart disease and cancer. He was 87.

While Wilson was ill for much of the summer, the diminutive owls — Owlie and Olivia and their four babies — brought great joy.

“My mom has told me over and over what a blessing this has been and how much dad enjoyed going out and talking to the owls,” said the Wilsons’ daughter, Cindy Remme.

Owlie lived off and on in the Wilson’s garage, and last year brought home a girlfriend, later named Olivia. In May, four adorable babies appeared high up on a shelf.

Just before the Star story ran, all of the owls flew off. But within days, four returned and remain in the garage, bringing joy to the family during Wilson’s final days.

“These owls have been great for me,” Wilson said in early July. “I am limited as to what I can do but I can sure watch these owls and talk to them.”

Said Helen, his wife of 67 years, “God entrusted us with these precious creatures. He gave us a gift. He knew just what we needed.”

Jim Wilson was born in Tucson in 1928, the sixth of seven children born at home to Lawrence and Frances Wilson.

Lawrence hailed from Illinois and was part of the Great White Fleet, the U.S. Navy battle fleet that circled the globe between 1907 to 1909, by order of President Theodore Roosevelt.

The tour ended on the west coast, and Lawrence stopped in Tucson to visit his brother, who had tuberculosis. He decided to stay and sent word to his girlfriend that he wished to marry her, but she would have to come to Tucson, said Brian Wilson, Jim Wilson’s son.

They married in 1911, when Arizona was still a territory, and homesteaded near what is now the Oro Valley Country Club and also on South Sixth Avenue.

Jim Wilson attended Safford Elementary, Mansfeld Junior High and Tucson High schools. At Tucson High, he got called into the office after the principal saw him drag racing behind the school. The principal recognized Jim’s car, but demanded to know who he was racing.

Turns out it was his mom.

“He was so proud of his car, and his mom said there was no way he could beat her Buick,” Remme said.

Turns out he could.

Wilson and his wife met in high school, and married in 1948 at First United Methodist Church.

A lifelong salesman who served as a hot shot firefighter in his youth, Wilson sold cars, mobile homes and insurance. He loved camping and hunting.

And he loved his five kids, 13 grandkids and one great grandchild. He was the first PTA president at Holaway Elementary School, where his children, and later some of his grandchildren, attended.

“We never had a lot of money, which I didn’t realize until later in life,” Remme recalled. “Our vacations were always camping trips. We have fantastic childhood memories.”

At home, Wilson loved to turn out the lights and go into monster mode while the children hid. “He would quietly come looking for us and if he found us we would scream and run,” Brian Wilson recalled. “That was one of our favorite games.”

In the 1980s, Wilson saw in the newspaper that a class was offered on building your own mud adobe home. He was hooked, and over three years built 12,000 bricks by hand while Helen helped with the design of the home, where he lived until his death.

“We have so many great memories,” Remme said.

In addition to his wife, Helen, Wilson is survived by children Peggy Carlson (Kenny), Bob Wilson (Karen), Cindy Remme (Mark), Brian Wilson (Lisa), Craig Wilson (Connie), 13 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and brother Robert Wilson (Ann).

Services for Wilson are 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1 at First United Methodist Church, 915 E. Fourth St.

Donations can be made in memory of Wilson to the Yavapai County Food Bank, 8866 E. Long Mesa Drive, Prescott Valley, Arizona, 86314, honoring the 19 firefighters killed in the 2013 Yarnell Hill fire.