Monday, January 24th, 1944 - Friday, October 30th, 2020
A Celebration of Life service for R. Joe Wilson age 76 of Enid will be 1:30 pm, Friday, November 6, 2020 at Oakwood Christian Church with Rev. Eric Keller and Rev. Philip Wilson officiating. Burial will follow in the Del Norte Cemetery, Drummond, OK under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home. The service may be viewed online at oakwood.church and the service will be on www.ladusauevans.com for viewing after the service.
Richard Joseph “Joe” Wilson, born January 24, 1944 to Howard and Ruby Wilson in Oklahoma City, OK. At age three, the family moved to Kiamichi Mountains in the Southeastern Oklahoma mountains where he and his three brothers were raised. His dad was a lay preacher, yet the whole family farmed and were known for their apple & peach orchards. Joe and his brothers learned the love of Christ, the Gospel and the value of hard work. As those raised in hard times, Joe became self-reliant. To fulfill his desire to attend Midwest Christian College in OKC, he raised and sold pigs to pay his own way. His athletic ability and height made him an impressive basketball player. After graduating from Midwest in 1966, he obtained his MA in 1967 from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales New Mexico. Despite his frugal income, in 1967 his entrepreneurship and ability to save afforded him to buy his first airplane, a 1960 Tri-Champ. In addition to full time academics, he was the campus minister at Central Christian Church, Portales, NM. There in his own words, “he met an attractive young red headed lady who could play the organ and type.” Thinking she was a perfect “asset of a partner and wife”, he and Fae (Lee) started dating. After they both received masters in their respective fields, they married on June 4, 1968 in Portales. They went to Lincoln, IL for Joe to attend Lincoln Christian Seminary from which he received his Master’s of Divinity in 1971. He and Fae loved to travel so he sold his Tri-Champ to afford a 53-day tour of 13 countries in Europe, the Holy Land, Italy, Greece, Egypt and other destinations. While ministering at Watonga (OK) Christian Church, still into aviation he acquired his second plane, an Air Coup, which was sold to “afford” his two children Celesta and Nathan. He answered the ministry request of Dan Harlow, minister of Davis Park Christian Church in Enid, OK to start Oakwood Christian Church in 1978. There he was greatly involved in the original construction followed by six subsequent church building expansions. While ministering at Oakwood he earned his Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. in 1993. Also, during his ministry, he led several tours to the Holy Land on which some of the Oakwood members joined. He bought his third plane a Cessna 150, to make hospital calls in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and to fly the children to visit their grandmother Berdie, who lived in Portales, NM. From there he traded up to a ½ share interest in a 1960 Cessna 182, which he called his work horse. Ever the mechanic, he overhauled the engine and converted it from aviation fuel to 87 octane farm fuel to save money. In that plane, the family attended annual Christian Conventions and family vacations.
Since retiring from Oakwood in 1999 after close to 22 years of continual service in located ministry, he began his dynamic “retirement” ministry by joining World Mission Builders becoming the World Mission Builders Domestic Coordinator. Joe and Fae have done 90 projects of building small to mid-size churches, church camps, children’s homes, 6 chapels in Oklahoma prisons, Thunderbird Chapel at Camp Gruber, Legacy Lodge in the Kiamichi Mountains, countless homes and facilities that bring hope and the love of Jesus. He raised considerable funding to build churches in the Philippines. He started preaching in 1964 while in College. His ministries included Kasoma, OK; Borger, TX; Watonga, OK; Enid, OK. Joe’s mission was always clear: to expand the Kingdom of God. He took Jesus to the world. He leaves us his legacy of loving God, loving His church, loving his family and friends. His passion was to leave this world a better place than he found it and to leave behind a legacy which would last longer than he would live. This passion is reflected in the motto of World Mission Builders “Permanence in Missions”. In his final days, his great desire was that his Legacy go on after him. His last project was coordinating the next World Mission Builders’ building project at Cookson Hills Children’s Home, Kansas, OK. He worked hard his whole life, and he played even harder. He loved to go 4-wheeling with his grandchildren or anybody else that he could talk into an adventure. He loved to go to the lake, water ski and fish. He enjoyed flying his airplanes, hunting, fishing, the linger-longers at the Wilson’s after church on Sunday nights, and always homemade ice cream. He loved to travel. Joe loved to play with his grandchildren and to show them a good time. He relished the opportunity to attend his mother, Ruby Wilson’s 100th birthday.
He is survived by his wife, Fae, his daughter Celesta & Jude Champagne, his son Nathan & Anndria, grandchildren Landree & Lukas Wilson, Caden, Jace and Joanna Champagne. His mother Ruby Wilson; and his three brothers, David & Beth, Philip & Sherry, Paul & Mary Wilson, and many nieces, nephews, their children. He was preceded in death by his father, Howard Wilson.
Memorial gifts can be made to Legacy Endowment Fund for Preaching Scholarships, Inc. Legacy Endowment Foundation was his final legacy plan to fund future declared pulpit preaching students to carry on preaching the gospel. Any and all donations will make a difference in the Kingdom of God. Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home, P.O. Box 3501, Enid, OK 73702 will be custodians of the funds.
Condolences may be made to the family online at www.LadusauEvans.com. Ladusau-Evans has been serving the families of the Enid Community and surrounding areas for over 40 years with compassionate service and dedication. They provide families with an open door policy. Feel free to contact them 24 hours a day. Visitation Hours: 8:00 am – 9:00 pm daily, 2800 N. Van Buren, Enid, OK 73703. Call: (580) 233-1400.
Obituaries are posted, in part, due to the generosity of The Commons.
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