Kenneth Wilson Jr., 90, Navy officer, Exxon executive

Services will be held Monday, July 18, for Kenneth Edgar Wilson Jr., 90, of Kennett Square, a retired Navy rear admiral who died Thursday, July 7, of a lung ailment at Kendal Crosslands.

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1947, Adm. Wilson launched a three-decade military career, serving principally in engineering roles aboard ship.

The first was the cruiser USS Juneau (CL-119) in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea in the late 1940s; the second was the fast-attack submarine USS Gudgeon in the Pacific Ocean in the early 1950s.

He was repair and engineering officer on the submarine tender USS Proteus during its 1961 deployment to Holy Loch, Scotland, the advanced base for the first Polaris missile nuclear submarines.

He also served in the Navy's Bureau of Ships in Washington, where he was responsible for the concept design of new nuclear submarines and advanced hydrofoil crafts.

His next deployment was the Navy's management office for shipbuilding in Groton, Conn., as inspection and design officer for the construction of 20 new nuclear attack and missile submarines.

After serving at the Polaris and Poseidon missile systems offices in Washington, and at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, he became commander of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in 1970.

At the time, he was the youngest commander of a naval shipyard since World War II, according to his Navy biography.

Two years later in 1972, he was promoted to admiral and deployed to Washington, where he served in the Naval Sea Systems Command for six years.

His last post was as vice commander of the systems command office, responsible for the management of all ship research, design, and maintenance, and of the more than 100,000 officer civilian employees based at headquarters and at shipyards and engineering offices nationwide. He retired from the Navy in 1978.

"He didn't talk about his work. He came home and was a dad," said daughter Nancy Drake. "He was very, very proud of serving his country, but humble."

In civilian life, he spent seven years as an executive at Exxon Corp., working on enterprises at home and abroad. From 1986 to 1993, he worked as an independent management consultant to public utilities.

Son of Jane Hance and Kenneth Edgar Wilson, he was born in Philadelphia but reared in Narberth.

He graduated from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, then completed his Naval Academy studies in three years. He earned a master's degree in naval construction and engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952.

Adm. Wilson's awards include the Navy Commendation Medal and upon retirement the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy's highest peacetime award.

He was a past president of the American Society of Naval Engineers and a past vice president of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

In 1951, he married Shirley Smith Wilson, and the couple had four children, whom they reared in places as far-flung as Hawaii and Scotland. In their early years as a family, the Wilsons planned trips so the children could learn about history.

"The trips were often based around routes that would provide the most opportunities to stop and visit battlegrounds, naval bases, and anywhere he could pose the children for pictures with cannons," his family said in a remembrance.

In 1969, the Wilsons bought a second home in the village of Belmont, Vt. It was a fixer-upper, but Adm. Wilson thrived on the challenge.

"He could often be found tinkering in his workshop or sprucing up the outside of the house," his family said.

He also expressed his zest for woodworking by making all four children heirloom cradles for their babies.

Adm. Wilson and his wife loved hunting for antiques to furnish their homes. They handed down the items to their children and grandchildren.

He was active in the Episcopal Church and in his later years as a volunteer for community organizations in Kennett Square.

Besides his daughter, he is survived by two other daughters, Barbara Conley and Sarah McKay; a son, Kenneth Wilson 3rd; 11 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. His wife died in 2012. A sister also died previously.

Adm. Wilson's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday, July 18, at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, 401 N. Union St., Kennett Square. Interment will be Tuesday, July 19, at the U.S. Naval Academy cemetery.

Donations may be made to the Church of the Advent, 201 Crestline Drive, Kennett Square, Pa. 19348, or to the Crosslands Reserve Fund, P.O. Box 100, Kennett Square, Pa. 19348.

bcook@phillynews.com

610-313-8102