Leslie Edward (Les) Wilson

Leslie Edward (Les) Wilson died July 17, 2026, at Colonial Gardens Memory Care Center in West Columbia, after battling Alzheimer's disease. He was born in Atlanta on May 15, 1946, the second son of Mattilu Summers and Thomas Gerald Wison. Les attended Atlanta public schools and graduated in 1964 from College Park High School, where he participated in numerous activities including band, Latin Club, varsity baseball, basketball, football, and golf teams.

Les attended Furman University on a football scholarship; additionally, he played on the baseball and golf teams, and in the years ahead, as long as he was able, he continued to be an enthusiastic and skilled golfer. After his graduation in 1968 with a degree in business administration, he married his high school sweetheart, Lynn Moore. They were married until her accidental death several years later. He served in the U.S. Army 1969-72, with stations in Panama and Korea.

After the Army years Les and Lynn settled in suburban Atlanta, where he worked in a variety of jobs. They had two children, Laura, a daughter who had been born in Panama, and Les Jr., a son born in Atlanta. Les coached children's sports teams, won state awards in Toastmasters, collected model trains, played softball and golf, and eventually began a years-long stint in insurance sales.

In 1988 Les married Sarah (Sally) Boyd, with whom he had been friends at Furman. She was happy in her job at the University of South Carolina, and because insurance sales was a more portable occupation, he moved to Columbia with his two children. The new family lived in Blythewood for several years, and after the children's high school graduations, Les and Sally moved downtown to the Shandon area, where she continues to live.

In his late forties Les surprised Sally (as well as their friends and families) with his announcement that he was making a serious career change. He left insurance sales to become an elementary school teacher. After arduous years of preparation, he earned an M.Ed. from USC-Aiken and taught for over a decade in first Sumter and later Richland counties, beginning with fifth grade at Rafting Creek Elementary in Sumter and ending with Crayton Middle in Columbia. With changes in technology, Les decided he had made appropriate contributions to the education of children and chose retirement.

Their thirty-eight years of marriage have left Sally with many memories of fun times. Both she and Les were beckoned by travel—to the Mediterranean or to the North Carolina mountains—so their adventures near and far were numerous. When Les began teaching, they began their spring break trips, which meant while students were enjoying the week with no school, they were exploring some area of the United States. The agenda was to fly to someplace in an interesting part of our country, and in a week drive about 2,000 miles through that area to explore it as thoroughly as possible. Over the years these areas included New England, the upper Pacific coast the lower Pacific coast, the Mississippi River's path to New Orleans, and the Northwest U.S.

Some travels expanded to include both ocean and river cruises, taking them to many destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean as well as Alaska. Often they were accompanied by friends or Sally's sister, Lyla. The purchase of property at Edisto Beach in 1989 brought the opportunity to enjoy a comfortable, laid-back un-touristy beach town where locally-owned Whaley's has been a fixture forever, but Burger King didn't make it. Sally was drawn in the other direction also, where they enjoyed many a mountain cabin with a fireplace and a hot tub on the porch. And just as enjoyable to them as travel was time spent on their own wrap-around porch on the corner across the street from Hand Middle School. Countless gatherings, both planned and spontaneous, have filled that porch with groups of new friends, old friends, celebratory times, political pow-wows, and times when shared strength was needed. In their early days in the house the porch was a favorite spot for Sally and Les to enjoy quiet conversation under the ceiling fans on summer evenings.

Friends remember Les for his kindness, his warm hugs, his smile, and his sense of humor. Over time, becoming less gregarious and outgoing, he was quieter and more reflective, but he always enjoyed the company of others.

In addition to his parents and first wife, he was predeceased by his older brother, Thomas Gerald Wilson, Jr. In addition to Sally, he is survived by his children, Laura Wilson Freeman, her husband Melvin Freeman, and their sons Wyatt, Bryson, and Tyler Freeman. He is also survived by his son, Les Wilson, Jr., and his wife Brooke Gardner Wilson, and two sisters-in-law, Suzanne Robertson Wilson and Lyla Boyd Baumann, as well as two nephews: his brother's son Tom Wilson and Suzanne's son Richard Bell. Other survivors are Sally's daughter Erin Thigpen Wilson and her husband, Laurens Wilson. Also missing him are his adored feline ginger boys, Elbert and Grover.

Sally and the family appreciate all the love and support both Les and the rest of us received from so many during this challenging time. We are especially grateful to Colonial Gardens Memory Care and Heart of Hospice for their warm, compassionate and skilled care at the end of his life.

A private celebration of Les's life will be held at a later date. For those who desire, in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Furman University Athletic Scholarships, 3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville SC 29163; the SC Alzheimer's Association,140 Stoneridge Parkway Suite 640, Columbia SC 29210; or the Edisto Island Open Land Trust, 547 SC-174, Edisto Island SC 29438.

Published on Legacy.com August 17, 2026