Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Hancle LaVaughn Wilson was born to Hancle and Matilda Wilson on January 24, 1927. He was the second of five children born to this union.
LaVaughn, as he like to be called, was a hard worker from a very young age who did not mind getting his hands dirty to make a dime. He missed out on his dream to become a pilot in the air-force due to an ear drum malfunction that could not be fixed. He settled for working in the bomber plant in Ypsilanti during World War II, but he never forgot his dream of flying an airplane which he talked about often in his last year of life.
Picking up on the skills from a woodshop class from elementary school, LaVaughn became a carpenter and a self-made entrepreneur in the cities of Ann Arbor, Inkster and Detroit, Michinga. His passion, however, was talking to people and when he accepted the Adventist message in the early 1950's, he became a successful colporteus with the goal that everyone in the city of Ypsilanti should have at least one of the last days message books in their home. He often encouraged young people to get their Christian education through the literature evangelist work.
In 1985 he moved his family to Huntsville, Alabama and took a position as a corpenter at Oakwood College where he worked until his semi-retirement in 1995. Even though he left the college he picked up his trade as a carpenter/handy man and continued to work until his health began to fail. LaVaught always figured he would work for the rest of his life, even though everyone else urged him to slow down. He would always say "you don't get paid to work at home."
After a 5 year struggle with congestive heart failure the Lord saw fit to give him rest after 80 years of life. He will be truly missed by his family and friends.
Hancle was preceded in death by his brother James Wilson of Flint, MI.
He is survived by his wife, Lucille Wilson; siblings, Delena Triplett (Paul), Everett Wilson (Barbara) both of Ypsilanti, MI; children, Shelia Mitchell of Huntsville, AL, Bridgette Brown (Michael) of Virginia Beach, VA, Carol Wilson of Chicago, IL, Gary Wilson of Tucson, AZ, Michelle Ramey (Derrick) of Huntsville, AL, Patricia Mack of Atlanta, GA, Sharon Wilson of Atlanta, GA, Tangela Baptiste of Huntsville, AL, Towanda "Fay" Jones (Riley) of Huntsville, AL; his sister-in-law, Edith Wilson of Flint, MI, nineteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Wilson will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday July 22, 2007 from the New Life Seventy-Day Adventist Church at 4906 Blue Spring Road with Pastor Harold Goodloe officiating. Interment will be in Meadowlawn Garden of Peace. The Wilson family will recieve friends from 6:00 to 7:00 on Saturday, July 21, 2007 from the Nelms Memorial Funeral Home chapel. The remains of Mr. Wilson will be in the church one hour prior to funeral time.