Maurice Leon Wilson

Maurice (Maury) Leon Wilson, 79, passed away in Brea, Calif., June 23, 2013.

He was born in Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 10, 1933, to Estes and Kathleen (Gammon) Wilson, and married Jane R. Griffin (now former wife) in St. Paul, Minn., in 1958.

He began his career as a civil engineer with the state of Alaska DOT in Valdez in 1963. Of the many contributions he made to Alaska during the past 50 years, he was proudest to help design the new townsite of Valdez following the devastating Good Friday Earthquake in 1964. Also a land developer, Maury created subdivisions from Valdez to the Kenai Peninsula to the Mat- Su, his most notable developments being Wolf Lake Aero Subdivision and Wolf Lake Airport.

Surviving are his daughter, Kelley Griffin; son, Jon Wilson (Diane Cottle) and their daughter, Jessica, all of Wasilla; sister, Delia of Winnipeg; brother, James (Judy) of Florida, and his wife Cheryl Mangin-Morgan Wilson of Brea, Calif.

Preceding him in death were his parents; sister, Ada; brother, Estes Jr.; and sons, Thomas and Bradley.

He was a Korean War veteran and buried with military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minn.