John F. Wilson
Valparaiso, IN
John F. Wilson, age 85, entered peacefully
into the presence of Jesus Christ, on Friday, November 7, 2014. He is survived by his wife, June A. Wilson; brother, Merle Wilson II, son, John S. Wilson; daughter, Cheryl Wilson Fornelli (husband, John);
grandchildren, Brian Fornelli (wife, Victoria), Eric Fornelli (wife, Julie),
Martin Fornelli (wife, Megan) and great grandchildren, Josiah, Hannah, Selah,
June, John (Jack), Lon and Brie.
Well known as a fun-loving, positive
encourager, John was a conductor, performer, composer, teacher and worship
leader. His educational background
includes undergraduate work at the Chicago Evangelistic Institute and American
Conservatory of Music as well as graduate work at Northwestern University,
where he received the Master of Music degree and pursued doctoral studies.
He spent the first half of his
career and directing choirs and teaching music at Mountain View Bible College
(Alberta, Canada), Fort Wayne Bible College (Indiana), Moody Bible Institute
(Chicago), Indiana Wesleyan University and West Suburban Hospital School of
Nursing. He then joined the editorial
staff of Hope Publishing Company, where he served for twenty-eight years as
Executive Editor, Senior Editor and then, Editor Emeritus. Over more than 40 years, he served as choir
director of several church choirs as well as his own professional group, the
John Wilson Singers.
He has composed over 400 published
works for choirs and instrumental groups, including a number full length
musicals for adult and children’s voices.
As a long time member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP), he has received several awards for his contribution to
serious contemporary music.
His recording credits include the
producing and directing of numerous professional orchestral and vocal albums
and demos in Nashville, Hollywood, Chicago and London, England.
John founded the Music and Drama
Camp at Cedar Lake, Indiana, which he directed for eleven years before retiring
in 1992.
His textbook, “An Introduction to
Church Music”, published by Moody Press in 1965 and distributed by I.C.I.
University in Texas, is still used in college classrooms today.
When he was in his 70’s, John arranged
and programmed computerized accompaniments for a compact digital orchestra
called “Gloria”, which is still being used in nearly 80 countries today.
A Memorial Service will be
Saturday, February 14th
2pm
23901 West Rolf Road
Plainfield, IL 60586
