Harold "Hal" Wilson, beloved son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather, passed away Aug. 14. He will be greatly missed by friends and surviving family: daughters, Starr and Summer; and grandson, Solomon Fagan of Toronto, Canada.

Born Oct. 9, 1923 in Lewistown, Mont., he grew up on a wheat farm and later helped in the family grocery store, which instilled a lifelong work ethic. After studying engineering at Montana State University in Bozeman, Harold joined the Navy and was stationed at the Mojave Naval Air Station Pilotless Aircraft Unit (PAU), where he met the love of his life, Ruth. Both pilots, they made a home together after the war, moving to Camarillo in the early 1950s. Harold worked at Pacific Missile Test Center Point Mugu, becoming the head of the Range Support Division before retirement in 1980.

He and Ruth led active lives, enjoying golf, square dancing, and nature tours of the world. Both dedicated volunteers, they worked tirelessly to help bring the new Camarillo Library into existence, for which they were named 1999 Persons of the Year by Friends of the Library. They were active supporters of the Museum of Ventura County, the Camarillo Ranch House, and were named Don and Dona by the Pleasant Valley Historical Society. Harold received Congressional and Presidential awards for his voluntarism. Although he had slowed down in recent years, he still swam daily and worked as a docent at Point Mugu's Command History Storage Facility, where missile hardware and artifacts are displayed for the public, up until a bad fall in July.

Many thanks to Roze Room Hospice of Ventura.

Cremation at Griffin Family Funeral Chapels, 1075 E. Daily Dr., Camarillo, 482-1166, will be followed later by a celebration of his life at the family home on what would have been his 87th birthday, October 9. Please include your e-mail address in guestbook entries if you would like to attend.