W. E. (William Edward Wilson) has left this earthly sphere, but his legacy of more than one-half century of working for and with Forney and its residents shall long remain..... and his influence went way beyond this community!
He was the Principal of Forney High School for a decade and then continued influencing parents and children for three more decades with education in and around the Kaufman and Dallas County areas.
He loved animals, especially Arabian and Thoroughbred Horses, and headed up many associated groups.
He led the Kaufman County Emergency Services District for two decades.
He was an active member of 1st Baptist Church of Forney.
He was called FRIEND by probably thousands!
**When I began Forney High School in the mid-sixties, Mr. Wilson was my Principal, but more importantly my Freshman Algebra Teacher. Our class period was right after lunch, and Mr. Wilson used an overhead projector with a roll of plastic upon which he illustrated problems and solutions. It had a fan and a light inside its base. It was a very hot early October afternoon, and I sat right in front of Mr. Wilson’s desk with the overhead projector’s base about level with my desk.
I had eaten lunch; it was hot; I was sweating and trying my best to pay attention and write notes upon my paper with my pencil, holding it up at times to rest my aching wrist–Mr. Wilson taught thoroughly and precisely and fast! I must have “dozed off” and accidentally let my pencil stick through the gapped protector in front of the fan.....and “bam!” The fan fell to the side; my pencil hit the chalkboard; the motor stopped running; Mr. Wilson stared at me over the light stalk of the projector! I stared down at the desk, too afraid to look at my TEACHER!
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Wilson put the fan and machine back together, re-adjust the light stalk, re-set the switch to “on,” and push the “on” button. I was so happy the mechanism seemed to be working properly and so fearful of what was to come next.
Mr. Wilson picked up my pencil from across the room where it had flown after hitting the fan, walked back to his desk, and leaned over it so that his face was pretty near to mine and said, “I’ll see you after class! Here is your pencil.” I was mortified and scared. It was not just the teacher but my Principal, and he knew my Dad! My classmates were eerily quiet! I had trouble taking in the rest of the lesson that period, and then finally the bell rang. Most of the students were waiting just outside the door to catch a glimpse of “poor Don” and to see what was going to happen to him.
Mr. Wilson called me up to his desk, put his hands upon its top, and leaned really close to me and said, “Scared you didn’t I? Ha! Ha! Ha! Have a good rest of the day, and I will see you tomorrow!” The next day, he said to me as he leaned upon his desk and waited for the beginning class bell to ring, “I knew you didn’t mean to do that, but it startled me a little, too!”
I will never forget my teacher, principal, mentor, and long-time friend, Mr. Ed Wilson– strict, but fair and highly effective–dedicated to teaching and total education–a true “FORNEYITE.”
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