Robert Wilson, Sr.

Robert Wilson

Augusta, GA – Was ushered into the arms of Jesus Saturday, June 29, 2019, Mr. Robert William Wilson, Sr., 70, loving husband of Sharon R. Wilson.

Robert, known by friends and family as Bob, was born to Robert Ross and Betty Hilyard on December 13, 1948. He was later adopted by Margarite and Leo Wilson and raised with two brothers, Francis (Mary) and Charlie (Hilda), where he maintained the role of mischievous leader. He served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1987. He married his beautiful bride, Sharon Ruth Kasmarcik on June 15, 1969 and had just recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. Together, Bob and Sharon raised three children, daughters Tammy (Frank) Strausser, Jennifer Wilson, and a son, Robert (Heather) Wilson, Jr. Bob was a doting and playful grandfather to Franklin, Caleb, and Daniel Strausser, Konner, Joshua, and Kylie Robertson, and Mariah Wilson. Each would contend that grandpa treated them as his favorite. Each grandchild would be right.
In 1985 Bob discovered a multitude of siblings from his biological parents who have all become a valued part of his life. Linda (Tom) Kroll and Rose (Jimmy) McBlane were the first of his sisters to establish an ongoing relationship, becoming a big part of his life and his battle with leukemia where he was first diagnosed in 1984 and then once again in 1986. He also established relationships with other siblings, Margie Steklasa Ross, Lettie Ross, Paul Ross, and Bob Ross.
After leaving his military career, he worked as an air conditioning and refrigeration repairman from 1990-2003. His main goal was to keep everyone comfortable, whether it was in maintaining a reasonable temperature inside of a church service by manipulating the control panel or in making people feel comfortable and at ease in any given situation by initiating a giggle. Bob’s most notable character trait was his playful sense of humor.
Bob served in various capacities in his home churches and in the Emmaus and Tres Dias Communities where he made a lasting impression and impact on the hearts and lives of people. His motto was “People don’t want to know how much you know, until they know how much you care.” In 2007 he launched a church that specifically served the less fortunate in a trailer park in Augusta where he pastored for 7 years at Renewal Community Church, offering a large clothing and food ministry, in addition to a lot of love and acceptance to people who may not have felt comfortable gracing the doors of a traditional church. Pastor Bob truly had a heart for the less loved people of our community.
Bob enjoyed golfing and fishing, but what he was most known for was his love of gardening; growing the most lush and bountiful cultivations. Sitting in the cool of his garden on a hot Georgia summer evening, you can hear the crickets nudging the sun to make its way towards the western sky and bid the earth goodnight. In the background, the birds are still making their melodies that encourage the evening to draw closer. A feral cat he named Booger, who delivered her first set of kittens just eight weeks ago, gives them permission to scamper off in the distant edge of the garden which Bob had planted a couple of months ago before his strength began to fail him. Small tomatoes are just beginning to birth themselves out of the flowering buds, and squash plants are sneaking out bright yellow blossoms against the contrast of the dark green leaves that shade the promises to come. A reminder that a life full of fruit in a garden where Bob’s hands toiled to bring forth nourishment still bids promises for tomorrow. He spent his leisure time turning the soil every year for decades in the same place. The plum tree sits off to the right dropping its fruit all over the ground giving us a reminder that Bob’s work has been here for many years. He would want us to keep laboring in the soil of God’s love and His grace, with the hope of bringing forth our own fruit; and we will because he has inspired us to love God, love people, and serve both.
It is said that the dash between the dates on the tombstone is the most important-- Bob believed that and he endeavored to make the most of his ‘dash’ on this earth. The people who knew him know that his time with us was cut too short, but we also know that he used that time to make us laugh uncontrollably and to influence us to love without limits.
Please join the family as they celebrate the life and cherished memories of Robert (Bob) William Wilson, Sr.
The funeral service will be held Saturday, July 6, 2019 at 11:00 AM in the chapel of Thomas Poteet & Son with Pastor Chris Goss officiating. Burial will follow in Westover Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends Friday evening from 6:00 until 8:00 PM at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com

Donations can be made to The Harvest at Mosaic Methodist Church, 478 Columbia Industrial Blvd., Evans, GA 30809.