Paula Wilson, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2025, in Holland, Michigan, at the age of 87.
Born on August 22, 1938, Paula grew up in Norwood, Ohio, in a world still healing from the effects of the Great Depression. The challenges of her early years were marked by illness within her family and her mother’s time away for treatment.
Paula earned her bachelor’s degree in teaching from Miami University in Ohio, where she also began her career as an educator. When her first child, Jennifer, was born, Paula took time to focus on her family.
The wife of an Army chaplain, Gayle Wilson, Paula spent years accompanying him to stations in Georgia, England, and Germany. Those early years abroad inspired a lasting love of travel and community. Whether embarking on a road trip through New England, exploring the Appalachian Mountains, or taking a spontaneous jaunt to New York City, Paula brought enthusiasm to every journey.
She had a deep appreciation for the arts, from choral and orchestral works to opera and musical theater.
Paula’s kindness extended to many birds and animals. She found great joy in feeding the ducks at Kollen Park and shared her home with many bird feeders and beloved dogs over the years.
Her family will honor her memory privately, in a celebration of life filled with many memories and stories. She is survived by her children, Jennifer (Roger) Clinton of Hudsonville, MI; R. Mark Wilson of Grand Junction, CO; and Emily (John) Armstrong of Holland, MI, and their children, Julia (Tanatswa Mapondera) Armstrong, Anne Armstrong, and Eliza Armstrong; as well as a sister-in-law, and several nieces and nephews.
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