Donald R. Wilson (May 17, 1917 – November 28, 1983)''Annual Report of the West Virginia Bar Association'' (1984), p. 36.
The Mountaineer
', Vol. 43, No. 1 (June 16, 1980), p. 3. was a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from January 26, 1976, to December 31, 1976. Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Wilson received a

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1939, and an LL.B. and J.D. from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1942.Richard Grimes, "Donald Wilson Of Ripley Named To Highest Court", ''

The Charleston Daily Mail The ''Charleston Daily Mail'' was a newspaper based in Charleston, West Virginia. On July 20, 2015, it merged with the ''Charleston Gazette'' to form the ''Charleston Gazette-Mail''. Publishing history The ''Daily Mail'' was founded in 1914 by ...

'' (January 26, 1976), p. 1A. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, attaining the rank of captain. He was national commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, and as president of Oglethorpe University. On January 26, 1976, Governor

Arch A. Moore Jr. Arch Alfred Moore Jr. (April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from West Virginia. He began his political career as a state legislator in 1952. He was elected the 28th and 30th governor of West Virgi ...

appointed Wilson, a fellow Republican, to a seat on the state supreme court vacated by the resignation of Charles Harold Haden II, who had been appointed to a federal judgeship. Wilson remained in office until the end of 1976. Wilson married Judith Ann Brady, with whom he had two sons. Wilson died in 1983, at the age of 66.

References

1917 births 1983 deaths Lawyers from Detroit Princeton University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia West Virginia Republicans 20th-century American judges {{US-state-judge-stub