Vera Wilson

Vera L. Wilson, a longtime Newberry resident, owned and operated the former Wilson's Clothing on Newberry Avenue with her husband for 35 years. She was an avid ice skater who organized shows at the local ice rink for several years. The shows attracted many children and parent volunteers for skating exhibitions, and her interest in ice skating led to her involvement with the Newberry Winter Carnival during the 1940s. Mrs. Wilson was 102 when she died Monday evening, April 30, 2007, at Tendercare Health Center in Rogers City, where she had been living for the past six years.

She was born March 17, 1905, in Munising, to William and Eva (nee Travis) Blue. She was a 42-year resident of Newberry.

She married Walter L. Wilson in Chicago, Illinois, in 1924, and the next year they moved to Newberry. While they operated Wilson's Clothing, she also was a devoted homemaker and mother of seven children, friends recalled.

Mrs. Wilson enjoyed the outdoors, and was a partridge hunter and snowshoe enthusiast. Later in life, she worked at the Falls Hotel as a desk clerk and hostess for several years. She was a longtime member of St. Gregory's Catholic Church in Newberry, and she was past president of the St. Ann's Altar Society.

Following the 1967 death of her husband, Mrs. Wilson spent winters in Sebring, Florida, where for 15 years she enjoyed writings songs and poetry, square dancing, bicycling, and swimming, well past the age of 80.

Survivors include her three daughters and their families, Shirley Kincaid of Cincinnati, Ohio, June Vest of Fowler, Indiana, and Sallie Lavender of McMillan; 22 grandchildren; 49 great-grandchildren, and 19 great-great-grandchildren.

Besides her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her children, Chad, Marilyn, and Maricarol.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Monday, May 7, at St. Gregory's Catholic Church. Father Paul Karottekunnel officiated. A Rite of Committal followed at Forest Home Cemetery in Newberry.

Beaulieu Funeral Home of Newberry assisted the family with arrangements.