Remembering
Ed Wilson
(1923-2024)
No one has been more closely associated with the University or told its story more eloquently and passionately for the last half century than Ed Wilson (’43), affectionately known as “Mr. Wake Forest.” Wilson, the longtime Professor of English and Provost Emeritus, died on March 13, 2024, in Winston-Salem. He was 101.
Read more about Ed Wilson »
Memorial Service
Wake Forest will host a memorial service for Dr. Edwin Graves Wilson on Friday, May 3, 2024, in Wait Chapel. The service will begin at 11 a.m. and attendees are invited to a BBQ picnic lunch on Hearn Plaza afterward.
We will welcome guests into Wait Chapel beginning at 10 a.m.; those attending are encouraged to arrive early, as seating may be limited. Additional seating will be available in Brendle Recital Hall of Scales Fine Arts Center.
The service will be available for viewing online.
Guest parking will be available in Lots P and A, as well as on Davis Field (weather permitting) (campus parking map). For more information about campus accessibility, please view this interactive map or this overview.
For more information, please contact Emily Smith at smithes@wfu.edu or 336.758.4852,
Readings & Reflections
- “To Honor the Legacy,” Founders’ Day (1992)
- “The Heritage of Wake Forest” (1996)
- The Heart of Wake Forest, speeches from 1978-1990
- Reading John Keats’ “To Autumn” (2009)
- “The Essence of Wake Forest” (2011)
- Ed Wilson’s Wake Forest story (2012)
- Who inspired Ed Wilson? (2012)
- Celebrating his 90th Birthday (2013)
- Honoring Mr. Wake Forest (WF Magazine, 2014)
- Ed Wilson On His World War II Experience (2014)
- Ten for 10 with Ed Wilson (WF Magazine, 2016)
- Ed Wilson’s ideal bookshelf (2018)
- History of Wake Forest (2018)
- “Songs of Wake Forest” (2021)
- Reading “The Song of Wandering Aengus” (2022)
- Celebrating his 100th Birthday (2023)
- Deac to Deac: Ed Wilson and Debbie Best (2023)
- ZSR Library Special Collections Website with links to additional speeches & articles
- Flickr Photo Gallery
“What will future students find at Wake Forest? What students have always found I hope: a place which men and women of good will everywhere might, if they knew it, be happy to call home.”
Edwin G. Wilson (’43)
