Vance O. Wilson, 87, of Fenelton died at 6 a.m. Wednesday in the Chicora Medical Center following an illness.

He was born Nov. 4, 1921, in Belvidere, Ill., the son of the late Neil Wilson and the late Olie Mackey Wilson of Marengo, Ill.

He graduated from the Crystal Lake High School, Crystal Lake, Ill., and then from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill., the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., and the University of Maine, obtaining a master's degree in civil engineering.

A naval architect, he worked for Hinkley Yacht Co. in Maine, where he designed yachts. He then worked for Bath Iron Works in Bath Maine, then for Bethlehem Steel and then for the U.S. Coast Guard, from where he retired.

Mr. Wilson was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He obtained the rank of private first class, served with Company A, 112th Infantry, serving his country from Sept. 3, 1942, to Nov. 18, 1945, during World War II.

Surviving are two sons, Richard Wilson and his wife, Mary, of Winter Harbor, Maine, and Gerald Wilson and his wife, Pam, of Fenelton; and four grandchildren.

He married Margery C. Robertson Wilson, June 5, 1942, and she died July 13, 2006.

<B>WILSON</B> — There will be no visitation. Private burial for Vance O. Wilson, who died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, will be held in the St. John Cemetery, Clearfield Road, Fenelton. A private memorial service will be held at the convenience of his family later.Arrangements are by the <B>STEIGHNER FUNERAL HOME</B>, 111 E. Slippery Rock and Main streets, Chicora. For more information, directions or to extend condolences to his family, go to www.steighnerfuneralhome.com.