Murrysville man fell in love with the great outdoors

Whether it was his career as a railroad engineer, hunting moose and grizzly bears in Alaska, or running Wilson’s Nursery in Murrysville, Bill Wilson wanted to be outside.

That love of the outdoors also led him to his wife of 64 years, Marie (Rosenbayger) Wilson.

“There was an archery place in Monroeville that my girlfriend and I drove to,” his wife said. “We decided to learn how to shoot archery, and (Bill) and a buddy were helpers there. Lo and behold, guess who put his arms around me to show me what to do? It was him. That was pretty much the beginning.”

William W. “Bill” Wilson of Murrysville died Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. He was 90.

Mr. Wilson was born Aug. 9, 1929, in Turtle Creek, a son of the late William and Anna (Hall) Wilson.

In 1951 and ‘52, Mr. Wilson went overseas, serving in the Korean War with the 330th Commission Recon Company and earning an Army of Occupation, Good Conduct Medal as well as a bronze campaign star.

“He was in some of the roughest places,” said daughter Kim Restagno, of Murrysville. “He was stationed right near the DMZ line.”

A few years after Mr. Wilson returned home, he and Marie married on Oct. 28, 1955.

“He worked for the B&O Railroad as an engineer, so he was in and out a lot,” said Restagno. “We used to have to go and pick him up at other stations, and sometimes he’d bring home kittens in his pocket for us.”

In the 1970s, he started Wilson’s Nursery in Murrysville.

“He liked designing people’s landscaping, and he really knew what types of trees to plant in certain places,” Restagno said.

The Wilson family was full of hockey fans.

“My dad used to take my mother to Hornets games,” said daughter Beverly Wilson, of Greensburg. “When the Penguins came out, we had season tickets five rows from the ice.”

Beverly recalls watching her favorite non-Penguin, former St. Louis Blues center Garry Unger, taking pre-game slap shots when one errant shot left the ice.

“It hit me in the chin and bounced into my dad’s lap,” she said. “My chin was bleeding and Dad was going, “Oh my God!” and kept yelling, ‘Did you get the puck?’ He said no, and I started bawling.”

Mr. Wilson took Beverly to the Penguins team doctors, who said she needed stitches.

“I wasn’t leaving that game,” she said. “I told them just do what they did for the players. So they put a butterfly bandage on me and I saw that game.”

Restagno described her father as a very loyal friend.

“He liked to help people,” she said. “He always had a twinkle in his eye and a smile that lit up the room.”

Mr. Wilson is survived by his wife, Marie (Rosenbayger) Wilson; daughters Kim Restagno of Murrysville, Beverly Wilson of Greensburg and Bonnie Henderson of Manor; five grandchildren ; and eight great-grandchildren.

Friends will be received from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the Wolfe-Von Geis Funeral Home, Export. A 7 p.m. service will take place with military honors by the Greensburg VFW Post 33. Interment will be private.

Memorial donations can be made to the Sparro Retriever Rescue Organization, 142 Stark Drive, Plum, PA 15239.