Mary Louise Gibbs Wilson, 92, of Tifton died Friday, June 12, 2009, at Tift Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2009, in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. Rev. Chad Hall will officiate with burial to follow in Hickory Springs Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery. Kenny Hill, Greg Hill, Rodney Hill, Jeff Hill, Kent Hill, Al Gibbs, Melvin Gibbs and Drew Wilson will serve as pallbearers. The family will receive friends on Sunday, June 14, 2009, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mrs. Wilson was born on September 3, 1916 in Tift County and was the daughter of William Sikes Gibbs and Mary Jane Rigdon Gibbs, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Reid Andrew Wilson, Sr.; one son, Stanley Gibbs Wilson; three brothers, Chester Gibbs, Louie Gibbs and Glen Gibbs; one sister, Lillian Alice Gibbs Windom; and one son-in-law, Kenneth Ronald Hill, Sr. She was a homemaker and a farmer’s wife and a member of Ty Ty Baptist Church. She developed and owned and operated Bar W Trailer Park until she was 87 years old. She was a successful partner in farming with her husband, Reid A. Wilson. She loved gardening and tending to pecan orchards. She loved to cook and was thought by many to be the best cook in South Georgia. She had lived in Tift County since 1918.
Mrs. Wilson is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Reid A. Wilson Jr. and his wife, Carolyn, of Ashburn; one daughter, Geneva Wilson Hill of Tifton; three sisters-in-law, Mary Jo Gibbs of Tifton, Bertha Gibbs of Albany and Luverne Gibbs of Tifton; 10 grandchildren, Kenny Hill, Greg Hill, Jeff Hill, Rodney Hill, Alicia Hill Smith, Drew Wilson, Joseph Wilson, Adam Wilson, Sonya Wilson and Gibbs Wilson; 14 great grandchildren; and a special friend and care-giver, Luella Roberson.