Amna Louise Wilson was born on 28 Dec 1922, in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri. If you went down one road, it was called the Dexter mail service, and if you went down the other road, it was considered Essex. Sometimes the family said one or the other. Years later when Amna wrote to one nearby aunt, she mailed the letter to Essex, but if she wrote to her other aunt down the other road, she would put Dexter on the envelope. The cousins went to different schools, too, depending on which road they lived. Amna was the 2nd out of 6 children born to John Tillman Wilson III and Lillie Melinda Snider Wilson. Amna said that she was named after the Essex doctor's wife—her mother's friend from England—who said the name was popular over there. In 1928, when Amna was 6, her family moved to Genesee, Michigan. Her mother's family came from the Netherlands to Pennsylvania in the early 1700's, then moved to North Carolina before 1790, to Illinois around 1820, and finally to Missouri before 1880.
For the first time around 1933, Amna and her siblings learned about and got to meet their oldest half-brother, Delmar Wilson, when he came to work and lived with them for 2 years in Mount Morris (now Flint) Michigan. Before Delmar joined the U.S. Army National Guard at age 19 in 1935, the other siblings were thrilled to learn that during his stay with them, he managed a roller-skating rink where he learned to be a very proficient skater, and he also played guitar.
Amna's mother became deaf following scarlet fever at the age of 17 in 1915. She could still speak normally, and later when she married and had children, her family communicated with her by hand. When Amna was 15, her mother died at the age of 40 from septicemia following a miscarriage, which led to a fatal blood poisoning, leaving her husband to care for their children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 15 and 17. The family drove from Michigan to Missouri for the funeral, but they left the youngest, 2-year-old Joyce, in Essex for her maternal grandparents to raise. The father was lost and blamed himself, so the kids had to learn to take on responsibilities early in life. That's one reason why all 4 brothers and Amna served in World War II. And sisters Dorothy and Joyce both had full careers working as civilians for the government and the Navy.
Amna was a star athlete at Beecher High School in Mount Morris (now Flint), Michigan, and graduated in 1941. On 13 Dec 1944, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy WAVES —Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The official name was the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname WAVES stuck. One of Amna's responsibilities in the war effort was to tear airplanes apart that had been shot down so sailors could rebuild them. The majority of her time, she did clerical work in the administration office of the athletic department where the sailors would come for pool training to prepare for water survival. When she was honorably discharged on 8 May 1946, she had attained the rank of Seaman 1st Class (S1C). Three women—a brunette, a blonde and a redhead—had become friends while serving with the WAVES in World War II. Amna was the brunette and kept in touch with the other two. One was a tall blonde from Russia who was killed in an accident after World War II. The other was a redhead from New Jersey. In 1950, when Amna's husband was recalled for military service in Korea, her redhead friend stayed with Amna in Michigan for 2 weeks. Years later that redhead friend had a stroke and was in a Veteran's hospital in Arizona, and she recognized Amna when Amna visited her shortly before she died.
On 22 Jun 1946, Amna married Gerald Arthur Wolfe, another U.S. Navy World War II Veteran who remained in the Reserves. After marriage, she continued to play softball with the IMA girls softball team that was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. She participated in numerous adult education classes where she became a seamstress for friends and family, cake decorator, dog groomer, quilter and candy maker. She continued helping with her husband's legacy involving family genealogy research, which first started long before computers when everything had to be written on paper. Throughout the years, she would keep track of where all the family members were and what they were doing and share some of that information in her annual Christmas cards. She was ever so prompt to reply to every email inquiry from her family and friends with her subject line featuring her smiling and sunshiny disposition, depending on which day of the week it was—Good Monday Morning! Good Saturday Morning!
Amna's health began declining in 2021, but with help from her 3 children, she was able to remain in her home until 2 months before her death. She is survived by her 3 children—son David of Swartz Creek, son Dennis (Debbie) of Lake Isabella, and daughter Lori (Bob) Atkinson of Macomb. She leaves 3 grandchildren—Emma Atkinson, Shawn French and Mitch French and also 4 great-grandchildren. Her brother, 100-year-old Vernon Charles Wilson of Flint is the last survivor of the 7 siblings. Her sister-in-law Mary Townsend Wilson of Flushing will miss Amna's presence every Monday because that was the day they enjoyed sharing a weekly lunch outing together. Her brother-in-law John Whitaker of Layton, Utah, lost his wife Joyce in 2020—the youngest of the 7 siblings. Numerous nieces and nephews also remember their beloved and all-time-favorite Aunt Amna. She was preceded in death by her husband Gerald, just 11 days before their 67th anniversary, as well as her siblings Delmar, Calvin, Norman, Dorothy and Joyce.
A special Thank You recognition is given to Jackie and her team at Courtyard Manor in Swartz Creek and Grace Hospice of Flint for their compassionate care.
Amna died on 26 Feb 2022, in Flint, Michigan. Her remains will be buried next to her husband at the Great Lakes National Cemetery. Later services will be held at 1 PM on Monday, 9 May 2022, at Great Lakes National Cemetery, 4200 Belford Road, in Holly, Michigan.
For the first time around 1933, Amna and her siblings learned about and got to meet their oldest half-brother, Delmar Wilson, when he came to work and lived with them for 2 years in Mount Morris (now Flint) Michigan. Before Delmar joined the U.S. Army National Guard at age 19 in 1935, the other siblings were thrilled to learn that during his stay with them, he managed a roller-skating rink where he learned to be a very proficient skater, and he also played guitar.
Amna's mother became deaf following scarlet fever at the age of 17 in 1915. She could still speak normally, and later when she married and had children, her family communicated with her by hand. When Amna was 15, her mother died at the age of 40 from septicemia following a miscarriage, which led to a fatal blood poisoning, leaving her husband to care for their children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 15 and 17. The family drove from Michigan to Missouri for the funeral, but they left the youngest, 2-year-old Joyce, in Essex for her maternal grandparents to raise. The father was lost and blamed himself, so the kids had to learn to take on responsibilities early in life. That's one reason why all 4 brothers and Amna served in World War II. And sisters Dorothy and Joyce both had full careers working as civilians for the government and the Navy.
Amna was a star athlete at Beecher High School in Mount Morris (now Flint), Michigan, and graduated in 1941. On 13 Dec 1944, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy WAVES —Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The official name was the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname WAVES stuck. One of Amna's responsibilities in the war effort was to tear airplanes apart that had been shot down so sailors could rebuild them. The majority of her time, she did clerical work in the administration office of the athletic department where the sailors would come for pool training to prepare for water survival. When she was honorably discharged on 8 May 1946, she had attained the rank of Seaman 1st Class (S1C). Three women—a brunette, a blonde and a redhead—had become friends while serving with the WAVES in World War II. Amna was the brunette and kept in touch with the other two. One was a tall blonde from Russia who was killed in an accident after World War II. The other was a redhead from New Jersey. In 1950, when Amna's husband was recalled for military service in Korea, her redhead friend stayed with Amna in Michigan for 2 weeks. Years later that redhead friend had a stroke and was in a Veteran's hospital in Arizona, and she recognized Amna when Amna visited her shortly before she died.
On 22 Jun 1946, Amna married Gerald Arthur Wolfe, another U.S. Navy World War II Veteran who remained in the Reserves. After marriage, she continued to play softball with the IMA girls softball team that was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. She participated in numerous adult education classes where she became a seamstress for friends and family, cake decorator, dog groomer, quilter and candy maker. She continued helping with her husband's legacy involving family genealogy research, which first started long before computers when everything had to be written on paper. Throughout the years, she would keep track of where all the family members were and what they were doing and share some of that information in her annual Christmas cards. She was ever so prompt to reply to every email inquiry from her family and friends with her subject line featuring her smiling and sunshiny disposition, depending on which day of the week it was—Good Monday Morning! Good Saturday Morning!
Amna's health began declining in 2021, but with help from her 3 children, she was able to remain in her home until 2 months before her death. She is survived by her 3 children—son David of Swartz Creek, son Dennis (Debbie) of Lake Isabella, and daughter Lori (Bob) Atkinson of Macomb. She leaves 3 grandchildren—Emma Atkinson, Shawn French and Mitch French and also 4 great-grandchildren. Her brother, 100-year-old Vernon Charles Wilson of Flint is the last survivor of the 7 siblings. Her sister-in-law Mary Townsend Wilson of Flushing will miss Amna's presence every Monday because that was the day they enjoyed sharing a weekly lunch outing together. Her brother-in-law John Whitaker of Layton, Utah, lost his wife Joyce in 2020—the youngest of the 7 siblings. Numerous nieces and nephews also remember their beloved and all-time-favorite Aunt Amna. She was preceded in death by her husband Gerald, just 11 days before their 67th anniversary, as well as her siblings Delmar, Calvin, Norman, Dorothy and Joyce.
A special Thank You recognition is given to Jackie and her team at Courtyard Manor in Swartz Creek and Grace Hospice of Flint for their compassionate care.
Amna died on 26 Feb 2022, in Flint, Michigan. Her remains will be buried next to her husband at the Great Lakes National Cemetery. Later services will be held at 1 PM on Monday, 9 May 2022, at Great Lakes National Cemetery, 4200 Belford Road, in Holly, Michigan.
Amna Louise Wilson was born on 28 Dec 1922, in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri. If you went down one road, it was called the Dexter mail service, and if you went down the other road, it was considered Essex. Sometimes the family said one or the other. Years later when Amna wrote to one nearby aunt, she mailed the letter to Essex, but if she wrote to her other aunt down the other road, she would put Dexter on the envelope. The cousins went to different schools, too, depending on which road they lived. Amna was the 2nd out of 6 children born to John Tillman Wilson III and Lillie Melinda Snider Wilson. Amna said that she was named after the Essex doctor's wife—her mother's friend from England—who said the name was popular over there. In 1928, when Amna was 6, her family moved to Genesee, Michigan. Her mother's family came from the Netherlands to Pennsylvania in the early 1700's, then moved to North Carolina before 1790, to Illinois around 1820, and finally to Missouri before 1880.
For the first time around 1933, Amna and her siblings learned about and got to meet their oldest half-brother, Delmar Wilson, when he came to work and lived with them for 2 years in Mount Morris (now Flint) Michigan. Before Delmar joined the U.S. Army National Guard at age 19 in 1935, the other siblings were thrilled to learn that during his stay with them, he managed a roller-skating rink where he learned to be a very proficient skater, and he also played guitar.
Amna's mother became deaf following scarlet fever at the age of 17 in 1915. She could still speak normally, and later when she married and had children, her family communicated with her by hand. When Amna was 15, her mother died at the age of 40 from septicemia following a miscarriage, which led to a fatal blood poisoning, leaving her husband to care for their children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 15 and 17. The family drove from Michigan to Missouri for the funeral, but they left the youngest, 2-year-old Joyce, in Essex for her maternal grandparents to raise. The father was lost and blamed himself, so the kids had to learn to take on responsibilities early in life. That's one reason why all 4 brothers and Amna served in World War II. And sisters Dorothy and Joyce both had full careers working as civilians for the government and the Navy.
Amna was a star athlete at Beecher High School in Mount Morris (now Flint), Michigan, and graduated in 1941. On 13 Dec 1944, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy WAVES —Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The official name was the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname WAVES stuck. One of Amna's responsibilities in the war effort was to tear airplanes apart that had been shot down so sailors could rebuild them. The majority of her time, she did clerical work in the administration office of the athletic department where the sailors would come for pool training to prepare for water survival. When she was honorably discharged on 8 May 1946, she had attained the rank of Seaman 1st Class (S1C). Three women—a brunette, a blonde and a redhead—had become friends while serving with the WAVES in World War II. Amna was the brunette and kept in touch with the other two. One was a tall blonde from Russia who was killed in an accident after World War II. The other was a redhead from New Jersey. In 1950, when Amna's husband was recalled for military service in Korea, her redhead friend stayed with Amna in Michigan for 2 weeks. Years later that redhead friend had a stroke and was in a Veteran's hospital in Arizona, and she recognized Amna when Amna visited her shortly before she died.
On 22 Jun 1946, Amna married Gerald Arthur Wolfe, another U.S. Navy World War II Veteran who remained in the Reserves. After marriage, she continued to play softball with the IMA girls softball team that was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. She participated in numerous adult education classes where she became a seamstress for friends and family, cake decorator, dog groomer, quilter and candy maker. She continued helping with her husband's legacy involving family genealogy research, which first started long before computers when everything had to be written on paper. Throughout the years, she would keep track of where all the family members were and what they were doing and share some of that information in her annual Christmas cards. She was ever so prompt to reply to every email inquiry from her family and friends with her subject line featuring her smiling and sunshiny disposition, depending on which day of the week it was—Good Monday Morning! Good Saturday Morning!
Amna's health began declining in 2021, but with help from her 3 children, she was able to remain in her home until 2 months before her death. She is survived by her 3 children—son David of Swartz Creek, son Dennis (Debbie) of Lake Isabella, and daughter Lori (Bob) Atkinson of Macomb. She leaves 3 grandchildren—Emma Atkinson, Shawn French and Mitch French and also 4 great-grandchildren. Her brother, 100-year-old Vernon Charles Wilson of Flint is the last survivor of the 7 siblings. Her sister-in-law Mary Townsend Wilson of Flushing will miss Amna's presence every Monday because that was the day they enjoyed sharing a weekly lunch outing together. Her brother-in-law John Whitaker of Layton, Utah, lost his wife Joyce in 2020—the youngest of the 7 siblings. Numerous nieces and nephews also remember their beloved and all-time-favorite Aunt Amna. She was preceded in death by her husband Gerald, just 11 days before their 67th anniversary, as well as her siblings Delmar, Calvin, Norman, Dorothy and Joyce.
A special Thank You recognition is given to Jackie and her team at Courtyard Manor in Swartz Creek and Grace Hospice of Flint for their compassionate care.
Amna died on 26 Feb 2022, in Flint, Michigan. Her remains will be buried next to her husband at the Great Lakes National Cemetery. Later services will be held at 1 PM on Monday, 9 May 2022, at Great Lakes National Cemetery, 4200 Belford Road, in Holly, Michigan.
For the first time around 1933, Amna and her siblings learned about and got to meet their oldest half-brother, Delmar Wilson, when he came to work and lived with them for 2 years in Mount Morris (now Flint) Michigan. Before Delmar joined the U.S. Army National Guard at age 19 in 1935, the other siblings were thrilled to learn that during his stay with them, he managed a roller-skating rink where he learned to be a very proficient skater, and he also played guitar.
Amna's mother became deaf following scarlet fever at the age of 17 in 1915. She could still speak normally, and later when she married and had children, her family communicated with her by hand. When Amna was 15, her mother died at the age of 40 from septicemia following a miscarriage, which led to a fatal blood poisoning, leaving her husband to care for their children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 15 and 17. The family drove from Michigan to Missouri for the funeral, but they left the youngest, 2-year-old Joyce, in Essex for her maternal grandparents to raise. The father was lost and blamed himself, so the kids had to learn to take on responsibilities early in life. That's one reason why all 4 brothers and Amna served in World War II. And sisters Dorothy and Joyce both had full careers working as civilians for the government and the Navy.
Amna was a star athlete at Beecher High School in Mount Morris (now Flint), Michigan, and graduated in 1941. On 13 Dec 1944, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy WAVES —Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The official name was the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), but the nickname WAVES stuck. One of Amna's responsibilities in the war effort was to tear airplanes apart that had been shot down so sailors could rebuild them. The majority of her time, she did clerical work in the administration office of the athletic department where the sailors would come for pool training to prepare for water survival. When she was honorably discharged on 8 May 1946, she had attained the rank of Seaman 1st Class (S1C). Three women—a brunette, a blonde and a redhead—had become friends while serving with the WAVES in World War II. Amna was the brunette and kept in touch with the other two. One was a tall blonde from Russia who was killed in an accident after World War II. The other was a redhead from New Jersey. In 1950, when Amna's husband was recalled for military service in Korea, her redhead friend stayed with Amna in Michigan for 2 weeks. Years later that redhead friend had a stroke and was in a Veteran's hospital in Arizona, and she recognized Amna when Amna visited her shortly before she died.
On 22 Jun 1946, Amna married Gerald Arthur Wolfe, another U.S. Navy World War II Veteran who remained in the Reserves. After marriage, she continued to play softball with the IMA girls softball team that was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. She participated in numerous adult education classes where she became a seamstress for friends and family, cake decorator, dog groomer, quilter and candy maker. She continued helping with her husband's legacy involving family genealogy research, which first started long before computers when everything had to be written on paper. Throughout the years, she would keep track of where all the family members were and what they were doing and share some of that information in her annual Christmas cards. She was ever so prompt to reply to every email inquiry from her family and friends with her subject line featuring her smiling and sunshiny disposition, depending on which day of the week it was—Good Monday Morning! Good Saturday Morning!
Amna's health began declining in 2021, but with help from her 3 children, she was able to remain in her home until 2 months before her death. She is survived by her 3 children—son David of Swartz Creek, son Dennis (Debbie) of Lake Isabella, and daughter Lori (Bob) Atkinson of Macomb. She leaves 3 grandchildren—Emma Atkinson, Shawn French and Mitch French and also 4 great-grandchildren. Her brother, 100-year-old Vernon Charles Wilson of Flint is the last survivor of the 7 siblings. Her sister-in-law Mary Townsend Wilson of Flushing will miss Amna's presence every Monday because that was the day they enjoyed sharing a weekly lunch outing together. Her brother-in-law John Whitaker of Layton, Utah, lost his wife Joyce in 2020—the youngest of the 7 siblings. Numerous nieces and nephews also remember their beloved and all-time-favorite Aunt Amna. She was preceded in death by her husband Gerald, just 11 days before their 67th anniversary, as well as her siblings Delmar, Calvin, Norman, Dorothy and Joyce.
A special Thank You recognition is given to Jackie and her team at Courtyard Manor in Swartz Creek and Grace Hospice of Flint for their compassionate care.
Amna died on 26 Feb 2022, in Flint, Michigan. Her remains will be buried next to her husband at the Great Lakes National Cemetery. Later services will be held at 1 PM on Monday, 9 May 2022, at Great Lakes National Cemetery, 4200 Belford Road, in Holly, Michigan.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
