Funeral for Harold W. Wilson, 90, Lawton will be at 2:00 PM Sunday at the Becker Funeral Home Memorial Chapel with Rev. Gary Pratt, associate pastor at First Assembly of God officiating. Private burial will be under the direction of Becker Funeral Home & Cremation Service. The family will receive friends from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM Saturday at the funeral home. Harold Waine Wilson received his Home Call on October 30, 2011 A.D. He was born on the family farm 10 miles east of Lawton in 1921. He was the youngest of 9 children. His parents were southwest Oklahoma pioneers coming to the Lawton area from Missouri in the early 1900's before statehood. His father was a farmer and buyer of horses for the U.S. Cavalry at Fort Sill. He attended Roseland School (1-8) east of Lawton. The school was several miles from the family homestead. He rode his horse to school in good weather. In bad weather he walked. Harold attended Lawton High School (9-12) graduating in 1938. To help put himself through high school he worked on the family farm and at a poultry slaughter house in Lawton. He also made money by singing at weddings and other public events. Later in life the poultry house job resulted in avian (bird) tuberculosis which he battled for the last years of his life. Harold met his best friend forever, Dorothy Adelle Kuntz as a sophomore at LHS. She is the daughter of the late Justin S. Kuntz, the longtime Executive Vice-President of Lawton Public Schools. Justin oversaw the building of the new Lawton High School in 1951-1953. Kuntz Elementary was named in his honor. Harold and Dorothy were married at the First Methodist Church in Lawton June 26, 1940. They were devoted to each other in marriage for 71 years. After high school Harold worked for the Oklahoma Transportation Company in Oklahoma City. OTC was the principal bus line in Oklahoma. Because of his job, Harold was given a permanent draft deferment from World War II. Nevertheless, he wanted to do his part so he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. He was trained as a pilot/navigator on B-29 Bombers. Just before shipping out to the Pacific Theater for bombing operations over Japan, he was sent back to Lawton on compassionate leave as his firstborn son was severely burned in a kitchen accident. By the time he returned to active duty his Bomber Group had already gone to the Pacific. This accident to his son may have saved his life as most of his buddies never made it home. Harold spent the remainder of the War as a B-29 instructor at Mississippi State University. After WWII Harold returned to Lawton with $200 in his pocket as his only worldly possession. This son of a sharecropper soon began to make his way in the business world. His business ownership/investment interests included Wilson Candy Company, Lawton Tent and Awning, Home Decor and Air Conditioning, Southwest Farm and Ranch Center (John Deere), Sheridan Bank, multiple apartment complexes and nursing homes, Holiday Inns, Pecan Valley Development and Shelter Lakes Development. He was active in farming and ranching beginning in 1952. He was involved in wheat and hay operations as well as registered Angus, Hereford and Simmental cattle. He developed one of the first in vitro fertilization operations in the world. Some of the planet's most valuable registered cattle were shipped to Lawton, OK, from around the world. This was because in vitro could increase the calf production of a single registered cow by 5-10 times. At any given time there were 400 cows valued at millions of dollars in Harold's pens awaiting in vitro fertilization. An old Jewish proverb says that the greatest love one can show to another is to provide a job so that someone can provide for their family in dignity. Through Harold's many businesses and projects he provided directly and indirectly jobs for thousands of Oklahomans. Harold was active in local and state affairs including Kiwanis, the Salvation Army, 4-H and FFA, the Lawton Chamber of Commerce and the building of the 10-story Lawtonian Hotel. He also served on the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Soil and Water Conservation Board. He was a founding member of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. OCPA is an independent public policy organization. OCPA formulates and promotes public policy research and analysis consistent with the principles of free enterprise and limited government. Harold's purpose in this was to increase the freedom and prosperity of all Oklahomans. Harold was an active member of the First Christian Church, Lawton, for many years. He served for three years as a pastor of the First Christian Church of Duncan as well as interim pastor of many small churches throughout southwest Oklahoma. He was a member of Campus Crusade for Christ. Harold was instrumental in the founding of the Lawton Christian Family Counseling Center. In their later years, Harold and Dorothy attended the First Assembly of God Church of Lawton. Harold and Dorothy were key people in the establishment of Lawton Christian School (K-12) in the 1970's. They donated a significant portion of the family homestead for this purpose. They provided 36 years of support physically, spiritually and financially. Their purpose was to bring up students who would live lives of excellence for Christ and His Kingdom. After many years of work and much financial investment, Harold brought Christian radio to Lawton in the 1980's with KVRS (the Voice of the Risen Savior). This station has brought encouragement to thousands throughout southwest Oklahoma. Harold is survived by his wife of 71 years, Dorothy, of the home, his son Gary Wilson, M.D. and wife Nancy, Edmond, OK, his son Rick Wilson, M.D. and wife Loyce, Denton, TX, his daughter Lynda Kaye Haire and husband Curtis, Lawton. and his daughter Patti Rhea and husband Pete of Lawton;12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren: Dan and Dana Wilson, Hannah, Olivia, Seth, Claire and Jesse, of Edmond; Teri and Eric Johnson, Chase and Weston, of Mustang, OK; Patricia and Warren Waggoner, Tyler, Trevor, Trenton and Tori, of Lawton; Chris and Lynsey Haire, Ian, Zane and Adrian of Lindsey, OK; Joanna Wilson of Abilene, TX; Mitchell and Ashley Wilson, Denton,TX; Kate Wilson of Pagosa Springs, CO; Bill Wilson of Denver, CO; Jason Wilson of Denton, TX; Jordan Rhea of Edmond, OK; Jennifer Rhea of Leuven, Belgium, and Jeffrey Rhea, a senior at OU, Norman, OK. He is also survived by nieces Jeanne Shirley, Laura Fortune, Carol Ashmore and Sharon Brown, all of Oklahoma City, Trellys Erwin of Coppell, TX, and nephews Homer Coody and Dale Coody, of the Lawton area He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Garnett, Lucian, Loy and Murl and sisters Brooksie Coody, Flossie Henderson, Frances Rodgers and Percola Wilson. In lieu of flowers the Family requests donations be made to the Lawton Christian School Scholarship Fund, #1 Crusader Dr., Lawton, OK, 73505, or to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, 1401 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK, 73104 (405-602-1667).