THOMSON, Ga. - Mr. James E. Wilson Jr, 79, beloved husband of Mrs. Ruth Wilson, of Augusta Hwy., died Wednesday, April 3, 2002, in the Medical College of Georgia Medical Center. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, April 5, in the Wilson Family Cemetery, at Wilson Farms, with the Revs. Edward Frank and George Freeman officiating. Mr. Wilson was a lifelong resident of McDuffie County. He was a seventh generation McDuffie Countian. He was a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church of Thomson, where he was a member and teacher of JOY Sunday School Class and served on the Administrative Board and was chairman of the Board of Trustees. He was named McDuffie County Senior Citizen of the Year in 1994. He was a benefactor of many local charitable organizations and schools. He was a member and past president of Thomson Rotary Club. He believed in the Boy Scouts, having raised four sons to be Eagle Scouts and himself earning the Silver Beaver Award. He was instrumental in forming the "Thomson Ten Sixties" which was the beginning of the Thomson-McDuffie Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Wilson was a business leader beginning with MOFCO, the McDuffie Oil and Fertilizer Company. Later he and his brothers opened the Wilson Furniture Company, the Cotton Patch Motel, the Wilson Motor Company (the Ford Dealership), and Wilson Homes. In 1981, he and his sons built and opened White Columns Inn and later added the Plantation House Restaurant and Lounge. When only a boy, Mr. James love of horses and riding earned him the nick name "Boots". This love of horses and the resulting friendships led him to organize the Belle Meade Hunt, where he served as Master of Fox Hounds from 1967 until his death. He served as Southern District Director of the Masters of fox Hounds Association of America and was featured on the cover of "The Chronicle of the Horse" Magazine. He also developed Pine Top Farm as a widely known equestrian center which hosted Olympic Teams from around the world. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Ruth Wilson, Thomson; four sons, Gordon Wilson, Appling, James E. Wilson III, Glenn Wilson, and Epp Wilson, all of Thomson; a brother, Robert N. Wilson, Thomson; 8 grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Belle Meade Hunt, The Thomson Rotary Club and the JOY Sunday School Class.