Peter R. Willson, age 89, a longtime resident of Wheaton, IL, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 30, 2017, peacefully at home. He was born July 2, 1928 in Melrose Park, IL, the youngest of ten children to James F. and Grace Reay Willson.

He grew up in Maywood and graduated from Proviso High School in 1946 where he was a two time State Wrestling Champion. He attended Wheaton College where he met June Coray, daughter of Basketball Coach Ed Coray, and they were married on September 4, 1948.

Following his graduation in 1950, he moved to Lone Rock, Iowa, where he taught at Lone Rock Community High School from 1951-52. He also coached baseball and basketball there. After a brief hiatus from teaching, he returned to Illinois as a teacher at Blue Island Community High School from 1953-64. In addition to his teaching duties, Coach Willson also coached the wrestling, track and football teams.

In 1964, Pete began coaching the Wheaton wrestling team as an assistant coach, alongside longtime coach George Olson. Willson's tenure as Wheaton's head wrestling coach from 1974-90 and 1995-96 saw many successes on the mat, including coaching his grandson, Paul Elsen to a national championship in 1996. He guided Wheaton to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championships in 1976, 1977 and 1981. Wheaton participated in the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships 14 times in his tenure as head coach with 17 All-American selections in that time, including three individual Division III Champions.

Coach Willson received many awards and recognitions through the years including induction into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame (1990) and into the Illinois State Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame (1979). He was named Wheaton College's Alumnus of the Year for Distinguished Service to Alma Mater (1987) and was inducted into the Wheaton Athletic Department's "Hall of Honor" (1977). The Wheaton Invitational was renamed the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational in 2000, and the Wheaton College wrestling room was named the Pete Willson Wrestling Room in 2010.

For many summers, he moved his family to HoneyRock Camp, where he worked for Coach Harve Chrouser. He was a longtime member of College Church in Wheaton where he taught fifth grade boys for many years, served as a greeter, cooked, went on missions trips and served in many other capacities. He had a beautiful voice and enjoyed singing anytime anywhere. He was a people person who loved everyone, especially his family, wrestlers and children.

Throughout his life he was devoted to helping and serving others in many different ways, including; home repair, painting, apple and cheese runs and sharing produce from his garden.

His Christian faith was central to his life. He spent extensive time every day reading and studying God's word. One of his favorite verses was Isaiah 66:2 and that is how he lived his life.

He is survived by his wife June Willson, five daughters, Mary Beth (Paul) Elsen, Becky (Chip) DeBlois, Judy (Jack) James, Kathy (Tony) Zotto and Debbie (Scott) Bradley; sixteen grandchildren, David, Paul, Kate, Nate, Jessica, Jason, Coray, Ben, Jennifer, Justin, Brianna, Derek, Coray, Peter, David, and Grace, and 30 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by sister-in-laws, Marilyn Unruh and Faith (Don) Walkwitz and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and nine siblings.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at College Church, Washington and Seminary St. in Wheaton.

Memorial gifts may be directed to the Pete Willson Fund, Faith and Learning, (please make check to "Faith and Learning" and then in the memo line note "Pete Willson fund") PO Box 480, Wheaton, IL 60187 (supporting former wrestlers in missions), The Wheaton Pete Willson Wrestling Invitational, c/o Wheaton College Athletics, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187-5593 or College Church, 332 E. Seminary Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187.

Family and friends may sign a guest book at hultgrenfh.com. For more information, please call Hultgren Funeral Home at 630-668-0027.