Dede Wilson, 76, of St. Davids

Elizabeth Ann (Dede) Wilson, age 76, of St. Davids, PA, died peacefully on the evening of December 17, 2013, surrounded by her family, after a long fight with cancer. 

Born Elizabeth Ann MacFarland in western Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Bernard A. and Mary Violet Daly MacFarland.  She grew up in Charleroi, PA, and graduated from Penn Hall in Chambersburg in 1954.  She attended Sweet Briar College and graduated from Chatham University in 1958.

She married Bruce B. Wilson on New Year’s Eve 1958.  Together they raised four children, Mabeth W. (Daniel S.) Hudson, Sparks, MD; Mary W. (Gregg S.) Turner, King of Prussia, PA; Bruce Robert (Wendy) Wilson, Potomac, MD; and Caroline D. (Robert) Ellison, Berwyn, PA.  In addition to her children, she is survived by ten grandchildren (Sarah, Timothy and Will Hudson; Emily Rockwell and Brian Turner; David, Matthew and Jonathan Wilson; and Chris and Kyle Ellison) and two great-grandchildren (Brit and Molly Rockwell).  She was predeceased by another grandchild, Meg.

She gloried in her family, loving and receiving love in return.  Their summer home in Cape May, NJ, was a center of activity for the whole family.  She loved sailing at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May and was an active member of the Beach Club of Cape May.  She was also was a member of the League of Women Voters in Radnor Township for over fifty years and a member of the Merion Cricket Club.  She travelled extensively with her husband after his retirement, visiting Antarctica, Africa, Australia and the Galapagos in addition to more frequented areas of the world. 

Dede was a principal trustee of the Mary Daly MacFarland Foundation, a private charitable foundation focused on local charities and care and health care for the elderly. 

Services will be held at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA, on Saturday, December 21, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., with a reception to follow the service.  Interment will be private in Cape May, NJ.

Instead of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation in Dede’s memory to your favorite charity and perform one other act of kindness, either in her name or anonymously.