Dan Wilson

8/10/1930 — 8/5/2016

• Service Date: 8/13/2016
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Proverbs 22:1 says, "A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold."

How do you condense 86 years of a life well-lived into a few words on a page? How do you find the right words to paint a picture of the deep devotion between one man and one woman for 66 years, and the tender love and pride of this father of four, grandfather of 10 and great-grandfather of 21? How do you convey the heart of a man who deeply loved his neighbors, his community and this valley? Maybe you tell a story:

God knew that G.B. "Slats" and Helen "Lucille" Wilson would need a son who would be hard to get off of his mother's lap and who would love music as much as his father did. He knew they needed a son who loved traveling gravel roads more than super highways. He knew Lucille would need a son who could read her handwriting and would painstakingly transcribe every word of her 60 years of journaling. So, on Aug. 10, 1930, in the middle of a hot harvest day in Colton, He gave them Daniel Kemp Wilson.

God knew Betty Nordby, Jan Day, Peter Wilson and Susan Johnson would need a brother who would share their belief that it was an honor to be a Wilson and pass that on to his children and his children's children; a brother who had a ready smile, knew how to work hard alongside them, be sentimental, love them, assume his role in the family and be Uncle Dan to each of their children. So, He gave them Dan.

God knew Lapwai Schools would need Dapper Dan to lend his clarinet skills to the band, his basketball expertise wearing No. 10, and his friendship to every classmate from first grade to 12th. He knew that years later, there would be precious Lapwai children who would need a kind school bus driver to greet them with a smile each morning and deliver them safely home each afternoon. So for 40 years, He entrusted them to Dan Wilson.

God knew Louise Smith would need a husband who would treasure her and take care of her for 66 years. He knew she would need a loving father for the children she would bring into the world. He knew she would need someone who would value family, music, caring for people and serving her community as much as she did. He knew she deserved a faithful man, an honorable man. So, He gave her Dan Wilson.

God knew the people of Lapwai, Tom Beall, Webb Road, Spalding, Sweetwater, Garden Gulch and Thunder Road would need a faithful, reliable mail carrier who would allow neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night to stay this courier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds for 34 years and 872,247 miles to deliver gifts, bills, love letters and the Ruralite. So, He gave them Dan Wilson.

God knew the Wilson family would need a family historian who would spend decades passionately transcribing his mother's journals, searching out each branch of the family tree, treasuring weathered documents and then sharing everything he learned about local history and Nez Perce County by serving on the board of the Nez Perce County Historical Society.

God knew that Kristy Stedman, Dan Wilson Jr., Becky Grothe and Nathan Wilson would each need a dad who would model kindness, faithfulness, hard work; a dad who would come in after a long hard day looking like a dirty bulldozer and pick up a ball and bat for a good game of work-up before bedtime; a dad who would attend every ball game, school play, band concert; a dad who would sacrifice to provide college educations; a dad who would instill a strong work ethic, a love for community and the importance of family more with his life than his words.

God knew that Kirk and Heather and Dave and Linda and all of the others who would be added to the Wilson family through marriage would want to be loved as if they were flesh and blood. So, He gave them Dan Wilson.

God knew that Jason, Nikki, Drew, Natalie, Christine, Jessica, Daniel, Nicholas, Anna and Lanae would need a grandpa who would make each one of them feel like his pride and joy - someone who would teach them how to get their hands dirty and the importance of making every effort to be together as a family. He was a grandpa for whom "The More We Get Together, the Happier We'll Be" was not just a song sung at every family gathering. It was a core belief. So, He gave them Grandpa Dan.

God knew that He had a beautiful plan for Dan's life, so He gave him a wife who would encourage him when he had a hunger in his heart to know God more. He placed him in a loving church community where he could be blessed and be a blessing. He knew that on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, He would say, "Well done good and faithful servant ... Enter into the joy of thy Lord."

Please join us as we honor Dan's life at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Lapwai Assembly of God Church just off of U.S. Highway 95. In lieu of flowers, Dan preferred that you make a donation to the Dan Wilson Memorial Fund of the Lapwai Methodist Church, P.O. Box 477, Lapwai, ID 83540, to be used for a special project honoring the Nez Perce Tribe.

Service Information

Date & Time

Saturday, August 13, 11:00 AM

Location

Lapwai Assembly of God Church
400 US-95
Lapwai, Idaho 83540

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✔ Since 1924
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The administrative offices are open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are by appointment only.