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- [S25] 1930 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
Name: Harry Wilson Age: 5 Estimated birth year: abt 1925 Relation to head-of-house: Son Father's Name: Felix Wilson Mother's Name: Edna Wilson Home in 1930: Pine City, Pine, Minnesota Image source: Year: 1930; Census Place: Pine City, Pine, Minnesota; Roll: 1112; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 37; Image: 306.0.
- [S927] Obituary.
Wilson, F. Harry ?Soapy? (obituary)
Author: L. Tobeck Date: 2 May 2005 2:49 PM GMT
Surnames: Wilson, Garthofner
Classification: Obituary
OBITUARY: Published in the Pine City Pioneer, page 11, April 28, 2005 F. Harry (Soapy) Wilson, 80, died Sunday, April 17, 2005 at St. Luke?s Hospice in Duluth. Born on Oct. 31, 1924 in Rush City, the son of Felix E. and Edna (Garthofner) Wilson. Harry grew up near the shores of Cross Lake in Pine City. Boyhood activities revolved around fishing, boating, swimming and ice boating. He also worked on his grandparents? farm near Rock Creek. Harry was active in Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He was also the master of the long defunct, two-handed set shot while a member of the feared Pine City Dragon basketball team. Boyhood was abruptly replaced by manhood when Harry enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He lost his only sibling, older brother, Kenneth, who was killed in action in Italy with the U.S. Army in WWII. After discharge, Harry and lifelong friend, Kenny Hegstrom, tried to celebrate for everyone who returned safely from the war. Their friendship was kept intact through marriage and raising children and continues to this day. Not getting enough time on the water in the service, Harry sailed the Great Lakes on the ore boats. Thinking thee must be warmer occupations in his future, he enrolled at the Duluth Teachers College, finishing up at St. Cloud State, where he met his wife, Arlene, who worked as a secretary there. Married in 1952, she gave him more of an education that he got anywhere else. Arlene died from cancer in 1985. Out of school, Harry?s good looks and gift of gab quickly landed him a job as a soap salesman with Proctor and Gamble. After several short stints in Billings, Montevideo, Robbinsale and Edina, Harry was ?promoted? to Cloquet, where he raised his three children while selling soap under the pseudonym ?Soapy Wilson? in the Arrowhead Region for over 30 years. Harry woefully witnessed the family grocers being replaced by the supermarkets during his career. To his dismay a handshake and your word were replaced by technology. Retirement was filled with golfing, fishing, card playing and taking numerous houseboat trips on Lake Vermillion with family and friends. His grandchildren are now astute blackjack players, thanks to Harry. He also had a love for jazz attending Saturday afternoon jam sessions at a local club, gaining another nickname ?O?Douls.? He was always whistling some jazz tine. He will be hugely missed by his family and friends. Harry was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Arlene, one brother, Kenneth, and one son-in-law, Craig Asp. He is survived by one son, Steve Wilson and wife, Beth, of Thief River Falls; two daughters, Debra Sp of Lake Park, MN and Felicia and husband, Stan Palmer, of Bloomington; and four grandchildren, Matt Wilson, Casey Wilson, Rebecca Palmer and Stan Palmer. Funeral service and visitation were held at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet on April 21 and 22. Burial services were at Maple Grove Cemetery with full military honors accorded by the Cloquet Combined Honor Guard.
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1924 - 2005 (80 years)
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