KC Old Boy Ian Williams Wilson, aka Pete, aka Willo, is reportedly the first old boy to succumb to the deadly coronavirus.
He was a nurse working on the frontline in the battle against the disease in New York.
Ian graduated KC in 1985 and is survived by his son Ian Jr.
Ian was born in Kingston on August 31, 1967. He grew up in the Kingston Gardens with his grandmother (now deceased). The Kingston Gardens community is within close proximity to the Kingston College (KC) campus on North Street. As a student at Alpha Primary, Ian was in love with KC and would go to the KC football games and would follow the KC athletes who participated in Champs and all sports and academic events.
Ian’s dream came through in 1979 when he passed his Common Entrance Exam to attend Kingston College. He was placed in 7 Hardie. “I can’t imagine going to any other school in Jamaica other than KC” he would say over the years. Ian was a very good student and pursed the sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology). He was a member of the graduating class 1984. Ian was successful in several subjects at the CXC level and spent 1 year in 6th form at KC.
At the end of his 1st year in 6 form in 1985, Ian gave up school and took at job at the Passport Office in Kingston. He worked there until he migrated to the USA in August 1988
Ian would join and serve in the United States Marine Corp for a few years in the early 1990’s.
In 1998 he graduated from Iona College in New York with a degree in nursing and became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). He served as a nurse for the next 20 years until his untimely death on the morning of April 1, 2020. Ian loved being a nurse and he had an innate desire to serve others. It’s not surprising that he was diligently working on the frontline, caring for his patients when he succumbed to the Coronavirus.
Perhaps there are only a few people that you will meet who loves KC as Ian Wilson did. He was an active member of the KCOBA and would contribute to the scholarship dance and fundraisers, even if he is not attending the actual event.
Ian had a photographic memory and remembered all his classmates and teachers from all his classes. He was an avid track and field fan and was known to schedule his vacation time during Champs, so he wouldn’t miss anything. He had a deep love for the KC athletes and students.
In our (Ian, Ian Jr. and myself) last trip to Jamaica in August 2019, we visited the Melbourne and North Street campuses. The track athletes and the football players were in training. We met and greeted the coaching staff and some of the athletes and we left. Upon leaving the campus Ian said, “we should have really brought some food for the athletes, because I know how hard it was for me back in the days” This captures the essence of the kind of person Ian was.
Ian is survived by his son Ian Wilson Jr (an aspiring nurse), his mother, 5 sisters and 3 brothers.