E. Keith Wilson

E. Keith Wilson, 86, passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s at his home in North Salt Lake on Tuesday, December 8. He was surrounded by his family, including his wife of 63 years, Margaret, who has cared for him with extraordinary patience, love, and devotion for many years over the course of his illness.
Keith was born on January 10, 1934 in Preston, Idaho to Claire Inette and E. Michael Wilson. His father moved away soon after his birth, but he grew up in Preston being raised by his mother with the help of an aunt and uncle, Dr. Orvid and Lavinia Cutler. When he was 12 years old, he moved with his mother to Riverside, California. Inette worked full time while she raised her son in Riverside, where he learned faith, diligence, and responsibility as he worked various jobs, participated in a wide variety of athletics, and was active in scouting. He then attended Brigham Young University and majored in accounting. While there he met Margaret Ford on a blind date during which he managed to be tall and handsome enough to overcome the fact that he had no car, and they married in the Salt Lake City temple soon after his graduation. Keith expected to be drafted at that point, and took what he thought would be a temporary job with IBM in Southern California. However, with the birth of his first daughter, that job became a lifelong career as a systems engineer at IBM. In that job, he worked at the forefront of the computer industry at a time of great change and growth. His great intellect, which enabled him to master and implement new technologies through the years, made him a highly valued employee. He worked in their Riverside office for almost his entire career, which was very unusual for IBM, as their practice was to widely transfer employees. However, Keith chose to forego career advancements in order to remain in Riverside to care for his mother and provide a stable life for his growing family.
His family was truly his life, and he was always focused on the home. Despite being an only child, and never having had a father, he was a wonderful father who took great pleasure in his six children and a noisy, complicated home life that was worlds away from the quiet of his home with his single mother when he was growing up. Finding calm in a bubbling household, his hobbies were based in study: he fully consumed two or three newspapers every day and was an avid reader of history and biography. He always believed that there were very few things worth fighting about, and in the sometimes petty confrontations in life he invariably chose to just let them go rather than lose any measure of his peace of mind. Keith always had a quiet confidence and strength that made him a constant source of stability and calm for everyone around him.
Keith is survived by his wife, Margaret, his six children and their spouses: Katherine and Richard Stange; Scott and Jan Wilson; Marti and Harlan Pooley; Alan and Robyn Wilson; Jennefer and Martin Dorrance; and Rosanne and Clay Watson. His legacy also includes 24 beloved grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, December 12, 2020 at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, where a viewing will be held from 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. prior to services.
Interment-Centerville City Cemetery. Online guest book at www.russonmortuary.com.
Services will be live streamed on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/russonmortuary