John Harvey Wilson

John Harvey Wilson, Johnny to his family, passed away shortly after midnight on Friday, August 15th, 2025, at the age of 54. Born on June 12, 1971, in Merrill, Wisconsin, John was the first-born child of Joan and John Wilson, now of Port Wing, Wisconsin.

John didn’t want to be called a hero, he didn’t want to be considered “courageous,” and he didn’t want his obituary to say “he lost his battle with ALS” because honestly, it wasn’t a battle- there was no fight. ALS came in and slowly and unmercifully ravaged John’s body. But through it all, John continued to crack bad dad jokes, call for a family game of Clue, and cheer on his beloved Packers. He reveled in the moments he spent with his children and grandchildren, he attempted to try every Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor, and he almost earned a t-shirt with all his left-over Jonny Pop sticks.

John was interested in everything, and he truly was a “lifelong learner.” While John’s work career was centered around numbers and computers, he was constantly trying to expand his knowledge about the world. Even towards the end, when he was completely wheelchair bound, with his hands and fingers no longer fully listening to him, he decided to take an on-line course on AI. He listened to a lot of Van Halen, he continued to yell at Alexa when she misheard him, and he loved drifting off to sleep to a good podcast on virology, politics, or classic short stories.

John was happiest when he was outside, especially up north, running around and playing games with his family. He loved hosting big gatherings, where you could always count on John calling for players to start a card game. Everyone learned to not ask John to man the grill- he always got distracted (usually by jumping into a game of Frisbee), and the hotdogs would end up quite crispy. John often could be found out on the deck with a guitar in hand, picking out a Doc Watson tune or strumming some little melody he had composed.

John is survived by his wife, Beth; his sons, Nate, Zach, and Will; his daughter, Melanie; his parents, John and Joan Wilson; his sister, Kathy; his brother, Dan; and his three grandchildren, Gethsemane, Zion, and Bethany; as well as his beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.

A celebration of life gathering is being held on Friday, August 22, 2025, at the Starkson Family-Anderson Chapel on Garrett Avenue, in Apple Valley. Visitation begins at 10am, and the service begins at 11. In lieu of flowers, John wished for donations to be made to the ACLU.

Starkson Family ~ Anderson Chapel is handling arrangements.