Garland Essa Wilson

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Garland Essa Wilson born Jan 2, 1922 in Huntington, WV to James Essa and Mary Marguerite Wilson and died Sep 26, 2002, after a heart attack at 80.   In 1939 he graduated from Rome High School in Ohio.  He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, serving in Tulle Lake, CA and Dayton, WA.  He married Iris E. Scoggin Aug 2, 1941 in Lewiston, ID.  She preceded him in death in 1995. During WWII he worked as a civilian clerical worker at Wright -Patterson Army Air Corps.  He later worked as an electrician and owned a local restaurant with Iris.  A 50 year member of Dayton Masons of Washington, he served as Grand Historian of the lodge  from 1995 to 1998. A charter member of the Walla Walla Valley Genealogical Society, a member of the Blue Mountain Genealogical Society, he received awards from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Umatilla County Historical Society for his preservation of historical records, and in 1998 the Golden Pioneer Award from the Milton-Freewater Area Chamber of Commerce. He volunteered on the Ezra Meeker Trail Project and worked with school children on local history projects. He was on the Milton-Freewater Cemetery Board.   Survived by his son, Gary Wilson, Graham, WA; daughter Deanna Partlow, Olympia; brother Roy Wilson, Springfield, Ohio, sister, Jo Ann Taylor, Westport, Conn; 10 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Preceded in death by sisters Freeda Turner and Thelma Jackson. Interment was at the Milton-Freewater Cemetery. ( WWUB, Sunday, Sep 29, 2002) Submitted by Rella Gleaton

(Edit note: Garland was a true historian record keeper and willing to help anyone in their historical family searches. He began by typing up records from old newspapers that he found in an old building that was going to be torn down. He did this all on a manual typewriter for years and in his special room downstairs he had shelves full of organized records that he had accumulated.  He was an avid volunteer, and was one of the first people to walk the cemeteries of Walla Walla County and file the information. He also had a heart for sharing that information.  He helped me immensely when we took on the project of walking these same cemeteries and recording them for the the GenWeb Transcriptions project.  We will forever be grateful to him...R. Gleaton, March 2011)