Dr. Everett Wilson

Huntsville, Texas - A graveside service with military honors will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2, 2018, for Dr. Everett D. Wilson at Lower Mound Cemetery north of Perrysville, Indiana; Officiating: Pastor Duane Mycroft. There will be no visitation. DeVerter Funeral Home in Cayuga, Indiana is assisting the family with arrangements.

He passed away Saturday, May 19, 2018 in Conroe, Texas, with family by his side.

Dr. Wilson was born on a farm near Perrysville, Ind., on July 13, 1928, to Clarence Wilson and Maxine Perry Wilson. He graduated from Perrysville High School in 1946 with letters in basketball and an academic scholarship to Indiana University. In 1947, he transferred to Indiana State University where he completed his Bachelor of Science in 1950 and earned a Master of Science in 1951.

Dr. Wilson entered the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School at Newport, R.I., in July 1952 and was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy Reserve on October 23, 1952. He went on to serve three years on active duty during the Korean War, then transferred to the reserves until his retirement in 1978 after 26 years of service at the rank of commander. his most significant assignment was on the USS Navarro, where he served at sea for 14 months.

Upon his release from active duty, Dr. Wilson started pursuing his passion as a teacher and was employed as a science teacher and a basketball coach at his high school in Perrysville, Ind. He worked for a short time for Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation as a process control supervisor in charge of chemical and physical laboratories. He left the position in 1957 to further his education, entering Purdue University. In 1960, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degreee with a major in Endocrine Physiology and a minor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. he then taught and conducted research at Southern Illinois University. In 1961, he was awarded a NATO post-doctoral fellowship working with Dr. C.R. Austin at the national Medical Research Institute, Mill Hill England, and Cambridge University Cambridge, England.

Dr. Wilson was hired as an associate professor of Biology at Sam Houston State College in 1962 and was given a merit promotion to full professor in 1964. he was named as the first Dean of the College of Science in 1965 and held the position until 1979, moving back into the Biology Department at that time as a full-time faculty member. During his time as dean, the college became the university and grew from 4,200 to 10,000 students, adding three new science programs -- environmental science, geoscience and computer science.

Under Dean Wilson's leadership, the College of Science concentrated on increasing the number of faculty having doctorates, bringing in new faculty from throughout the United States.

Dr. Wilson was an active researcher in mammalian reproductive biology, publishing numerous articles and scientific journals. He was heavily involved in graduate student mentoring and research, directing the theses of 21 master's degree students. In the early '60s, Dr. Wilson was awarded a three-year grant in reproductive biology from the National Institute of Health to support his research and that of his students.

Dr. Wilson taught courses from freshman to graduate level and was a committed and enthusiastic teacher. he was instrumental in establishing several off-campus travel courses, to London and to Belize, which were well received by students.

During his career, Dr. Wilson provided significant professional services off-campus.

On the national level, Dr. Wilson took a one year leave of absence in 1972 to become the chief of the Reproduction Grants Branch of the Population Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he was able to stimulate much-needed university support for research in mammalian reproduction. At the state level, Dr. Wilson served from 1964 to 1980 on the Texas State Board of Examiners in the Basic Sciences and as president in 1972. This board is responsible for testing Texas medical and chiropractic students in basic sciences. During the '70s, Dr. Wilson served as secretary of the Texas Academy of Sciences, helping the academy move to a more robust position, professionally and financially.

At the local level, Dr. Wilson was a willing volunteer to judge student projects at school science fairs, providing scores of budding scientists with encouragement and constructive reviews of their projects.

For his many years of service to the university and to the scientific community, Dr. Wilson was awarded the University's Excellence in Service Award in 2006. He used the proceeds from this award to establish a scholarship in his father's name, the Clarence Wilson International Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Wilson had a long list of accomplishments during his career, but perhaps the most inspiring is the commitment he had to educating young people who could not otherwise afford college. He recruited and furnished partial or all tuition, transportation, room and board for 15 students from United States, Belize, Antigua, Mexico and Turkey.

Upon Dr. Wilson's retirement in 2006, he was awarded the university's highest honor for a retiring professor, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences an Sam Houston State University.

A significant change in Everett's life happened following a visit to Alaska some 30-odd years ago when he participated in the commercial fishing activities in Cook Inlet. After this intial visit, he purchased a commercial fishing permit and began a series of uninterrupted summer migrations to the north where he fished for salmon and halibut. Even after his commercial operations stopped he continued to enjoy sport fishing for the various Alaskan species but his passion developed for catching halibut. He developed many long-lasting friendships and experienced the grandeur and biological productivity of Alaska. Just as summer in Alaska was evident by the arrival of the ducks, geese and salmon, it was also announced by the arrival of Everett on the Kenai Peninsula. In the early years, he arrived in a van loaded with students from Sam Houston who were introduced to a way of life and culture vastly different from their east Texas homes. They would work in the "canneries" and learn life lessons that would be carried back to Texas and last a lifetime. His last visit was in the summer of 2017.

Dr. Wilson was preceded in death by his parents, and a sister, Martha Pickering Stout. He survived by a son, Everett Dale Wilson Jr., and daughters Mary Denise Wilson, Deonne Kay (Wilson) Niederhauser and husband, Chris, D'Anne Lynne Wilson, Charlotte Gaye Ellis and Varell Flowers; grandchildren, Ashley, Caleb, Joshua, Lindsey, Hanna, Christopher, Caylon and Emily; and six great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the Everett Wilson Biology Endowment Fund at Sam Houston State University or the United Services Organization (USO).

Graveside Service Lower Mound Cemetery Saturday, June 02, 2018 10:00 AM Email Details Old 63 Perrysville, Indiana 47974 There will be no visitation. Military honors will be accorded. Directions