Gwen Wilson

Life is What You Make It; Make it Happy Gwen M. Wilson, 79, died at home on October 17, 2016, surrounded by her family, after a seven-year long struggle with the terminal and insidious breath-stealing disease of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Flowers everywhere in Strafford County dipped their petals, bowed their blooms, and shed a drop of dew at the passing of the Co-Founder of Strafford's Garden Club. Held in esteem by people and plants throughout the county, she was revered as the plant lady with a consummate green thumb who could answer questions, solve issues, and turn any Charlie Brown type of woeful Christmas tree into one worthy of adorning Rockefeller Plaza. She was truly Strafford County's hidden garden gem as any local gardener would tell you. Gwen's happy beginnings stretch across the Atlantic Ocean from the small village of Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex, England where she was born to George and Alice May. As a child during World War II, she learned of hardships and rationings but also of family togetherness and frugality. Her older brothers, Richard May and Roger May predeceased Gwen. She is survived by her brother Christopher May who emigrated to Australia from Great Britain. As a teenager, not satisfied to watch the fairy tale love story and coronation of Elizabeth II from the sidelines in London, Gwen herself fell in love with a young airman stationed in England and soon found herself married, pregnant and on her way to America aboard a US Navy troop ship in 1956. From that union with Eugene Rowland, she bore two daughters, both who reside in Strafford County, Linda J.R. Hartmann (married to Sam Hartmann) of Strafford, and Christina L. Rowland of Rochester. Gwen, the mother, always ensured her daughters would (a) always be dressed nattily in matching outfits even though no twin DNA was present, (b) have the best dressed Barbie Dolls in town with hand-made clothes (c) always, always be loved while firmly and "Britishly" instructed to be resilient and resourceful. In the 1970s, Gwen met and married "the best thing since sliced bread" Melvin R. Watts and the expanded family grew to include Mel's children, Steve, Wayne, John, and Tina (Watts) Lequin. During those military years, the family travelled from Maine to Germany to Alaska. It was during her career as the Executive Secretary at Mapco Alaska (North Pole Refinery), Gwen was selected for an Outward Bound survival experience in northern New Mexico; it was one of her crowning personal achievements; she beat the Rocky Mountains and won! In 1983, Gwen and Mel finally retired in Strafford, New Hampshire. Gwen's interests and accomplishments were as varied as her travels. She was the best darn seamstress around (any local resident or Barbie would testify) and she applied those same dressmaking skills for years as the seamstress for the Lake Side Players in Strafford, designing and producing costumes. She also kept Paddington Bear, the Strafford School lobby mascot, well dressed by any teddy bear standards. Gwen was light of foot as a square dancer extraordinaire (actually having danced on the Arctic Circle in Alaska). She also traveled to and through: each of the 50 states, Europe, Eastern Europe, Communist Block Europe, Australia, come to think of it, there isn't much of the planet this well-heeled traveler hadn't seen. This Plant Lady (her affectionate title by Strafford's Garden Club) was also a member of the Strafford Women's Club and several other ad hoc groups of ladies, She was an avid hiker, bridge player, cribbage player, Red Hat Lady, book clubber, reading aficionado, and was apt to yell out "Yahoo Mountain Dew" at the drop of hat when expressing joy! She also found time to play and win 36,603 games of Free Cell on her computer, plus cook the world's best cheese and onion tarts. Gwen was a life time director of the Bow Lake Camp Owners Association, and Strafford Citizen of the Year in 1993. Following the death of her husband Melvin Watts in 2002, Gwen visited family in England and Australia. In 2005, she met Frank Wilson and soon the two were in love. They married in 2006. Gwen and Frank visited Australia twice, England three times, cruised the Caribbean, took a three-month road trip to Alaska, ventured out in their fifth wheel camper to the Canadian Maritimes one summer, and then to the high plains of Montana and the Dakotas for another summer. With Frank, Gwen spent her last years blessed with loving companionship, fully embracing that "life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." Gwen's greatest achievement in her life was her love for family and she happily let everyone know it! How proud she was of each of her children, her step-children, and all her extended family. She was especially delighted of being the "Gwenma" to her grandchildren (Steven Hartmann, Anna Hartmann, Chelsea Lequin, Jeremy Watts, and Amber Watts) and being "Gw-ome" to Adam Hartmann, her great-grandchild--the latest addition to the family. The enduring life lessons to her children and grandchildren always included the admonition to "try harder" and more importantly that "life is what you make it; make it happy." Gwen Wilson's memorial service will take place on Friday, October 28 at 3:00 pm at Bow Lake Baptist Church. All are welcome to attend and gather for a celebration of Gwen's life at the Bow Lake Grange immediately following. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to Strafford Garden Club, "Gwen's Garden", c/o Cynthia Knorr, PO Box 446, Strafford, NH 03884 to help keep flowers blooming in Strafford for generations to come.