Marion Rose 'Tommy' Wilson

Beloved Massillonian Dies Marion Rose “Tommy” (nee Harrison) Wilson, 75, a lifelong Massillonian, died on September 5, 2008 at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Her death was caused by complications arising from severe burns suffered in a kitchen accident on July 24 as she was making pancakes for her grandchildren on what was an otherwise beautiful summer morning. Mrs. Wilson, known by everyone as Tommy, was a Massillon resident for most of her life. Born in 1932, Tommy was the daughter of the late Marion Rose (nee Richards) Harrison and Robert Ewing Harrison, a local industrialist. Tommy and her younger sister Lou were raised in a small house on East Fourth Street by their mother after the untimely death of their father while the girls were still in grade school. Tommy attended Longfellow and graduated from Washington High School in 1950, where she was class Valedictorian. She then moved on to The Ohio State University, from which she graduated in 1954 as a Phi Beta Kappa scholar in classical languages and where she was one of the first women in the country to receive a prestigious Woodrow Wilson postgraduate fellowship. Tommy pursued graduate work in the classics at Bryn Mawr for only a short period of time before following her heart and marrying her college sweetheart, Fred James “Skip” Wilson of Berea, in December 1954. Skip was in training as a pilot in the US Navy, and over the next nine years his career as a carrier-based fighter pilot took him to assignments in Norfolk, Virginia and Monterey, California. It was during his time in Norfolk that a son, Scott, was born in 1956 and a daughter, Marion Rose III was born in 1957, although Tommy returned home to Massillon for both births because Skip was at sea. A third daughter, Martha, was born during the Monterey assignment in 1961. In 1962, Skip was assigned to test pilot duties at the China Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station in California’s Mojave Desert, where he was killed in a September 1962 aircraft crash. Tommy and her three children returned to Massillon, where they eventually settled with Tommy’s mother into a comfortable home on Lake Avenue N.E. It was here that Tommy began her long and distinguished career as a community volunteer. Among her many activities, Tommy served on the boards of the Massillon Museum, the Spring Hill Historic Home, the Massillon branch of the American Automobile Association, and the Great Trail Girl Scout Council. Tommy was well-known for her involvement with the Girl Scouts, serving as the leader of several troops in Massillon for many years – a tenure that long outlasted her daughters’ full Girl Scout careers – and as an active worker at the Council level, where among other things she spent many years teaching camping skills to a new generation of troop leaders. Tommy gave selflessly of her time in support of many charitable causes, including especially the United Way. Active in local Republican politics, Tommy was a long-time polling place volunteer and a past chairman of Republican party committees. Tommy’s only foray into elective politics was an unsuccessful run for a Massillon City Council seat in 1977, a race she lost by less than 20 votes. Tommy later became the first woman to join the Massillon Rotary Club and was a longtime member and officer in the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Bridge clubs, garden clubs, symphony clubs, and the Massillon Woman’s Club were also the beneficiaries of Tommy’s active involvement. Tommy loved to read and was very well known to the entire library staff from her bi-weekly visits to check out as many as seven books at a time. Occupationally, Tommy was a long-time substitute teacher in the Massillon city schools and served for many years as the executive director of the Spring Hill Historic Home before retiring several years ago. After retiring, Tommy shuttled between Massillon and the homes of her grandchildren in Florida, Connecticut and Washington, and enjoyed her grandchildren very much. They will all miss their Grammy. Tommy is survived by her sister Laura Louise Fisher and her husband James of Cincinnati, by her son Scott and his wife Holly of West Hartford, Connecticut and their children Harrison and Caroline, by her daughter Marion Rose Rich and her husband John of Clearwater, Florida and their children Tom and Marion Rose IV (“Mimi”), by her daughter Martha Core of Everett, Washington and her husband Bob and their sons Scott and Stuart and stepson Aaron, and by many cousins, nieces, and nephews. Tommy touched all of those who knew her. Her love of life was reflected in her many friends, her community involvement, and her intellectual curiosity. She will be missed; her loss is Massillon’s. The family wishes to extend its heartfelt appreciation to all those who expressed their sympathy and best wishes over the past few weeks as she struggled valiantly to recover from her tragic injuries, and also wishes to recognize and thank the staff of the Harborview Medical Center Burn Intensive Care Unit, who treated Mom and her family with a remarkable degree of compassion, care, dignity, and respect. Friends may call Thursday evening, September 11, from 6:00 to 800 P.M. at the Paquelet Funeral Home, 1100 Wales Road NE. A funeral service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 301 Lincoln Way East, Friday morning, September 12, at 11:00. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Spring Hill Historic Home Foundation, 1401 Spring Hill Lane N.E., Massillon Ohio 44646, in memory of the best friend Spring Hill ever had.