WILMINGTON — Charles Douglas “Chuck” Wilson passed away Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Chuck was born in 1945 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
When he was five years old, his family relocated to Coral Gables, Florida, where he graduated from high school in 1962. In 1966, he graduated from the University of Florida.
Chuck’s first position following college was in Atlanta, Georgia. During his four years in Atlanta, he met his loving and devoted (he called her wonderful) wife of 49 years, Carolyn Moore Flowers of Wilmington and formerly of Danville, Virginia. During Chuck’s career in public affairs, he served in Washington as chief of staff to a member of congress, and director of legislative affairs for a major trade association. He then served as a corporate vice president of public affairs for two Fortune 500 manufacturing companies. The later included the Fort Howard Corporation headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and its successor company, The Fort James Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. In 2004, Chuck and his wife retired to the Wilmington area to be near their daughter.
Chuck loved family life and was blessed with a wonderful (he called her fabulous) daughter, Suzanne Wilson Greene, born in Fairfax, Virginia, in 1975. Suzanne has two children, Wilson Moore Greene, age 13, and Eliza Flowers Greene, age 12. They live in Wilmington and are the joy of both grandparents.
During his life, Chuck enjoyed contributing to community leadership activities. While he served on numerous boards over the years, two of his most valued involvements included Rotary International and the Chi Phi Fraternity. Over nearly 20 years in Rotary and membership in several Rotary clubs, Chuck served as both a club president and assistant district governor. He and Carolyn are major supporters of the Rotary International Foundation. At the time of death, he was a member of the Downtown Wilmington Rotary Club.
During his years of involvement with Chi Phi, his collegiate fraternity, he served on both the National Council and the national board of trustees. He was also recognized as National Alumnus of the Year. His undergraduate chapter also recognized him each year for over 50 years by giving annually to an undergraduate member the Charles D. Wilson Outstanding Leadership Award.
Chuck was a member of St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church and enjoyed the special friendships he had there with members of the Genesis Sunday School Class.
In addition to his immediate family, Chuck is survived by a brother, Lauren Wilson, in Florida. He had special bonds with sister-in-law, Ellen Bridgers; brother-in-law, Odell Bridgers of Wilmington; and nephew-in-law, Sam Ogburn Jr., and his wife, Jane, and their sons, Jack of Winston-Salem and Sam III of London, England.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, at St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1416 Market St., Wilmington. A reception will follow at the church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, The JoAnn Carter Harrellson Center, 20 North 4th St., Suite 200, Wilmington, NC 28401; or the charity of your choice.
Share online condolences with the family at Andrews Mortuary & Crematory.
