Wilsons celebrate 75 years of marriage

Yvonne (Williams) and Paul L. Wilson Sr., 95 and 97, respectively, were married Oct. 6, 1947. They live in Siracusa Subdivision near Morgan City where they have made their home for 57 years.
Yvonne Wilson is a Morgan City native, while Paul Wilson was raised in Patterson. The Wilsons have eight children — two daughters and six sons — of which six are living. They also have 20 grandchildren, 62 great- grandchildren and 24 great-great- grandchildren.
“Understanding is the best thing in the world. That’s my motto,” Yvonne Wilson said. “The sun don’t shine every day, might get a drizzle of rain. That’s the way life is.”
The Wilsons met in 1946 during Yvonne Wilson’s prom during her senior year of high school. Prior to their meeting, Paul Wilson served in the Navy after being drafted during World War II. He spent time stationed in Europe during the war as Steward Mate 1st Class on the USS 357. He was part of the operation commonly known as D-Day, when Allied forces invaded Normandy, France, at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.
He also was involved in the occupation of Licada, Sicily, on July 10, 1943, and Salerno, Italy, landings Sept. 9, 1943. He received his GED through the GI Bill.
The Wilsons share a mutual love for music. Paul Wilson plays the keyboard and Yvonne Wilson plays the piano. He plays music by ear, while she reads sheet music. Their favorite hymn, “Through It All,” sums up their bond of over seven decades.
Paul Wilson worked as a crane operator for many years in Morgan City. Yvonne Wilson worked as a substitute teacher in her earlier years, as a homemaker and later completed correspondence training at a nursing school in Chicago.
For a complete story about the Wilsons’ life together, visit www.lafamilyforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021-p-y-wilson-story.pdf where they have been honored for many years in the Marriage Hall of Fame.