Wilson

William E. Wilson, Ph.D., 85, of Penn Township passed away Saturday at the St. John Specialty Care Home in Mars.

He was born Feb. 14, 1926, in Johnsonburg, Elk County, a son of the late Ray C. and Edna Thompson Wilson.

Dr. Wilson, known as “Doc,” received his master's degree and doctorate in clinical psychology from Penn State University.

He served a Veterans Affairs internship and was a psychologist at Torrence State Hospital and became executive director/clinical psychologist for the Butler County Mental Hygiene Clinic when he opened his private practice in the North Hills.

Advocating for the freedom of choice law in 1974, which gave federal employees direct access to a psychologist in their health benefits programs, was a passion of his.

Dr. Wilson was president of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and was honored in 1994 with the PPA's Distinguished Psychologist Award and in 1997 with the Karl F. Heiser Award for Advocacy on behalf of professional psychology, that was presented at the American Psychological Association convention in Chicago.

On a personal level, Dr. Wilson was a jazz music fan and played the saxophone.

He was a member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Butler, where was an elder and sang in the choir.

A veteran of World War II, he had served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.

Surviving are his loving wife of 63 years, Marylou Wilson; two daughters, Rebecca Sumner and her husband, Neal, of Washington, D.C., and Jenny Ruth and her husband, G. Matthew Kerns, of Massachusetts; a son, William James Wilson and his wife, Karen, of Butler; and a stepbrother, Gib McLaughlin of Indiana, Pa.

<B>WILSON</B> — The family of William E. Wilson, Ph.D., who died Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, will hold a private memorial service this autumn.The family requests that memorial donations be made in Dr. Wilson’s honor to the ISCMHC Fund for Excellence at Irene Stacy Mental Health Center, 112 Hillvue Drive, Butler, PA 16001.Cremation services were provided by <B>Geibel Funeral Home</B>, Butler. Information also is available at www.geibelfuneralhome.com.