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Thomas Buck Wilson Veteran
May 01, 2019

Obituary

Thomas Buck Wilson, 79, of Ledyard, died at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital on May 1, 2019 of respiratory failure and pneumonia. He was born to Thomas and Mildred (Buck) Wilson who predeceased him. Tom is survived by Gayle Davis Wilson, his wife of 51 years and his children: Peter of Washington, DC (Jason), J. Davis Harte of Corvallis, OR (Michael) and Matthew of Williams, OR (Amanda). He spent many hours involved with soccer, Indian Guides, and Cub Scouts, as well as attending every event of their childhood years. His three granddaughters; Julia, Quinn, and Freya were the joy of his later years.

Tom graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, CT, with a degree in economics in 1961. He then joined the US Air Force and was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant. He attended the University of Connecticut Law School where he was an editor of the Law Review and graduated in 1967 with honors. In 1973 he was admitted to the United States Supreme Court.

For 35 years Tom practiced law at Suisman Shapiro in New London. He concentrated in workers compensation, appellate, and municipal law. For many years he was town attorney in Ledyard, starting with the first selectman and then serving with both Republican and Democratic mayors. He helped write the first town charter. His law partners referred to him as their “scholar in residence” and came to him with their most difficult legal issues. He became a judge at the Mohegan Casino and enjoyed that even after retirement.

He was very active in the Ledyard Lion’s Club, serving as president twice and was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. His family thought of him as a historian, philosopher and a literary expert. His lifelong motto was “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”. (Mark Twain)

Burial will be private. A memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at jdrf.org or JDRF, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

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Dinoto Funeral Home
17 Pearl Street
Mystic, CT 06355
860-536-2685