Margaret "Pod" Fordham Wilson (1920-2018)

WILSON, FORDHAM, CHASON, GRANDE

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:13

From News & Record, Greensboro, North Carolina, June 17, 2018. (greensboro.com)

TUCSON, AZ
Margaret Fordham Wilson, age 97, passed away peacefully on June 15, 2018, at Santa Catalina Villas in Tucson, AZ.

Margaret was born on November 14, 1920, in Greensboro, North Carolina and grew up there. Always at her father's side, she was his "podner," shortened to "Pod," a nickname which stayed with her. Pod had a lifelong love of learning. Her remarkable memory was well paired with her curiosity. At age 12, she memorized the periodic table of elements to the delight of her Uncle Chris, who owned Fordham Drug in Greensboro. The lines of the great poets stayed with her; she called them up without hesitation when needed. She always had a dictionary within reach, and she consulted it often. Pod graduated from University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and taught school in Asheboro and Greensboro in 1941 -1942.

Delightfully irresponsible, she spent all of her earnings on cosmetics. Her good looks and a bright orange bathing suit attracted the attention of George P. Wilson, Jr., and they married in 1942. In 1946, they moved to Charlottesville, VA, where George taught in the Department of Speech and Drama for 16 years. They had seven children. Pod was a full-time mother, but was active in Faculty Women's Club, American Association of University Women, and Parent Teacher Associations.

In 1962, Pod and George moved west to Ames, IA, where George taught at Iowa State University. In Ames, Pod was active in the Octagon Society of the Arts, the Iowa Arts Council, and worked at Cheese and Puppets. Her major achievement was to make the house at 135 North Hazel Avenue a hub of intellectual and social discourse, not only for her children, but also their friends. For 20 years, junior high and high school friends of Pod's children were drawn to the big green house on the corner because it was safe and fun and always interesting. In 1985,

Pod and George moved further west to Tucson. Pod became an avid hiker and continued to enjoy and support the visual and performing arts. She served as a docent for the Tucson Museum of Art. She came to know and love the desert and gladly shared her knowledge with visiting children and grandchildren. Pod and George loved to travel; their destinations included Egypt, Greece, Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, China, Russia, Scotland, Turkey, Kenya, Canada, England, and Mexico.

Pod was preceded in death by her husband, George P. Wilson, Jr., her daughter, Margaret Anne Grande, and her sons George Pickett Wilson III, and Edward Fordham Wilson.

She is survived by her daughter, Helen Chason (Craig), her sons, Robert Leeson Wilson (Lisa), Thomas Lee Wilson (Susan), and James Averett Wilson (Janet), her son-in-law Denis Grande, her daughters-in-law Rena Wilson and Dee Wilson, and by 17 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. The family will celebrate her life at a gathering at Sunset Beach, North Carolina this July.