Dr. Phillip Henry Wilson, age 71, of Highlands Ranch, Colorado went to be with his Lord April 28, 2023, in Denver having fought Glioblastoma Multiforme brain cancer for 19 months.

Phil was born January 30, 1952, outside of Brownwood, Texas to Henry R. and Mary Sue Wilson. On the Wilson side of his family, he was the 4 ^th generation of "Henry" Wilsons honoring the statesman Henry Clay of Kentucky where the Wilson's had lived since before 1791. He was also a descendent of key men among Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" who helped settle Texas. Having lived in Odessa and Abilene, his family moved to the Denver area in 1962, returning to Texas in 1966, and settled in Lubbock. Here he went to Monterrey High School, active in the band and serving as drum major his senior year. He then attended Texas Tech University, where he was a member of the marching band and of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, graduating December of 1973 with a degree from the School of Business. While in the band at TTU, he met then married Nita Hoeckendorf in 1974.

He had a passion for flying, his dad having been an airplane mechanic during World War II, and having his pilot's license, Phil joined the Navy to train as a pilot for a short time, honorably discharged because of allergies. His first full-time job was with Folgers Coffee, which became a part of Proctor & Gamble, working for them in Odessa for seven years then in Albuquerque for eight years. In Odessa, he was active at Crescent Park Baptist Church and in the Lyons Club. In Albuquerque, he was an active member of Hoffmantown Baptist Church and an avid golfer.

Wanting more, Phil left P&G in 1990, and moved the family to Lewisville, Texas so that he could get his Master's degree in Statistics followed by his PhD in Marketing from the University of North Texas. He also began his college teaching career at UNT. In Lewisville, they were members of the First Baptist Church of Lewisville. From 1991 through 2000, the family got actively involved in competitive artistic roller skating, qualifying to compete at Nationals every year since 1992. Phil skated in team dance with Nita and in compulsory figures for a few years.

When Phil's older son became interested in pole vaulting, and as was Phil's nature, he learned all he could about the sport and became a volunteer track and field coach, and then became a USA Track & Field official rising to the college and national levels accompanied by Nita. Both sons became vaulters for Texas Tech University at different times. Each spring was dedicated to track meets almost every weekend starting in January from about 2001 through 2019.

In 2003, Phil began teaching Marketing at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas where he and Nita became active members of the First Baptist Church. Annually from about 2010 through 2018, Phil accompanied by Nita began teaching a summer course in France for a week, then they started annually taking about six MSU students to a two-week summer school in Germany. It gave these young adults an experience that they all admitted changed their perceptions of the world around them.

From about 2006 until 2018, Phil served on the board of the Wichita County Teen Court, the last three or four years as board president. This is a program that helps problem teens avoid the judicial system, and achieved low recidivism and high involvement in positive programs.

While in Wichita Falls, Phil got more involved in cycling competing multiple times in the Hotter Than Hell annual bike races. He also renewed his passion for flying, taking additional training and obtained his instrument rating, which is commonly known as the hardest license to earn. He retired from MSU in 2019, moving to Highlands Ranch, Colorado but continued to commute and teach to support MSU, changing to teaching on-line classes from Colorado when Covid 19 hit in the Spring of 2020. During the Covid epidemic, he volunteered and facilitated the virtual instruction of his two grade school grandchildren in Highlands Ranch for the 2020-2021 school year.

In October 2021, he was diagnosed with brain cancer and completely retired from teaching in November as it so strongly affected his speech and use of the written word. He lived out his remaining 19 months maximizing his time with his family and maintained most of his quality of life until his last few weeks. Even in his last week, he brought smiles to his provider's faces with his politeness and effort to make those around him comfortable. Phil was always hospitable, caring and giving.

Phil is survived by his wife, Nita, their children, Amanda, her husband Steve Isenburg of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and their children, Matthew and Arya, sons: Kenneth Henry and wife Claudia, of Pearland, Texas and their children, Henry and Isabella, and Kelly and his wife Rawan of Friendswood, Texas, and his sister, Susan Taylor of Kenmore, Washington and her adult children, Daisy and Jessie Taylor.

Visitation will be at 3pm on Saturday, May 13 ^th at Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home in Wichita Falls, Texas. The funeral service will follow at 4pm. After the service, the family will be dining in the private room at Jason's Deli and invite anyone who wishes to join them. A graveside service will be held at 2pm on Sunday, May 14 ^th at Greenleaf Cemetery in Brownwood, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Samaritan's Purse International Relief (a Christian charity who we contribute to annually), the Sarah Cannon Research Institute (who administered the trial drug which gave Phil eight extra months of quality life), or another charity of your choice.