Don Wilson, 76, police officer, band member

Don Wilson, 76, a former Philadelphia police officer and a leader of The Big Band at the Clef Club in Philadelphia in the 1990s, died of pneumonia on Thursday, May 17, at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Mr. Wilson joined the police force in August 1959 and retired in August 1981. He played trumpet with a police department band, as well as piano for the Police Pastimers Band until it disbanded in the early 1990s.

For the last two years, Mr. Wilson played piano with the Tony Williams Trio on Monday nights at LaRose Jazz Club in Germantown, and he was a solo pianist on Thursday nights at the Warrick Hotel in Center City, said his sister, Ursula Hendricks. During his career, Mr. Wilson played with, among others, the late Sonny Stitt and the late Art Farmer when they performed in the Philadelphia region, she said.

Mr. Wilson was a part-time teacher of jazz, piano, and improvisation at Temple University from 2001 to 2009 and, during those years, taught Saturday morning classes in piano, music theory, and arranging at the Mount Airy Cultural Center, his sister said.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Wilson graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1954 and served in the Army National Guard.

In 1975, Mr. Wilson formed The Big Band and conducted and played piano for the group at Atlantic City casinos into the 1980s. From 1995 to 1998, he led The Big Band at the Clef Club, his sister said, and from 2009 to 2011 was a board member there.

He also led the Clef Club Band at summer concerts sponsored by the Philadelphia Recreation Department.

Mr. Wilson was a member of the Optimist Club International.

Besides his sister Ursula, Mr. Wilson is survived by his wife, Jackie, and sister, Alice Womack.

A viewing was set from 8 to 10 a.m. Thursday, May 24, at the Kirk & Nice Funeral Home, 80 Stenton Ave., Plymouth Meeting, before a 10 a.m. funeral service there, with interment in Rolling Green Memorial Park in West Goshen.

Contact Walter F. Naedele at 215-854-5607 or wnaedele@phillynews.com.