Tupelo - Clifford Bonner Wilson was born on January 2, 1935, in El Dorado, Arkansas to George Raymond Wilson Sr. and Blodwen Paulus Jones Wilson. Cliff passed away on April 28, 2026, at the age of 91, cared for by the loving staff of Sanctuary Hospice.

Cliff, as he was known to all that loved him, was accomplished in many unique ways. He lived all over the country as a child because his father was a Baptist preacher, and graduated from Newman High School in Sweetwater, Texas. Following high school, he went to Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, Georgia where he ran track, participated as an Air Force ROTC student, and studied Chemical Engineering. Cliff was a co-op during his college years with Dow Chemical in Lake Jackson, Texas, paving the way for a future at Dow.

Cliff Wilson received a scholarship to study at the renowned ETH Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland, known for its science and technology, and its cutting-edge research and innovation, after graduating from Georgia Tech University. The most impressive part of this experience is that Cliff had to take all his classes in German, so he had to become fluent in German first through a six-week crash course. Following his graduation from ETH Zurich, he joined the Air Force as a pilot flying C1-30 transport planes, where he eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He met Emmalyn Phillips at First Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. They married after dating and enduring many months apart on June 17, 1962. During his years in the Air Force, he flew photomapping missions over the jungles of Brazil, Colombia, and Ethiopia, and in many other parts of the world, and lived for a while in Bogotá, Colombia, with his beautiful bride. Cliff stayed active as a pilot until 1967, when he accidentally cut off his finger in a terrible accident with a power saw. Following his rehab, he became an Air Force Reservist, doing intelligence work at the Pentagon annually, and went to work at Dow Chemical, at Lake Jackson, Texas, for 29 years, earning the nickname and a worldwide reputation as the “Magnesium Guru”. He eventually consulted on Magnesium for companies in Norway, Canada, Japan, Israel, and Australia, as well as all over the USA.

Over his lifetime, Cliff’s most proud accomplishment was his four children, Lisa, Dina, Clifford, and Philip, his nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He prioritized experiences, travel, and education, and funded those programs for all his children and grandchildren, changing the trajectory of their lives forever. He was loved immensely by the entire family.

As a determined father, Cliff also taught himself how to become a builder by studying a book and building onto his house to double the size to accommodate his family. As fatherhood and work took over, Cliff found himself in his early 40s a bit overweight. He had a coworker who dropped dead just minutes after having a conversation with him, and this coworker was about the same age and size. This got his attention. Shortly after this happened, he had a two-week military reserve obligation in Washington, D.C., while the Marine Corps Marathon was going on. Watching this marathon motivated him to start working on getting in shape. He would walk and then run, and each day try to extend his progress. When he first started running around the neighborhood, you could hear him breathing hard from quite a distance away. This began his journey toward getting in shape. So being an engineer, he documented everything!

Cliff swam 7 million yards, that’s about 3,976 miles! He has biked 55,000 miles on his bicycle. Since moving to Tupelo, he has been riding the miles on his stationary bicycle. He has walked and ran 53,000 miles. Making up the above distances, he has completed the following; three 50 K races, 38 Marathons (Boston three times, Marine Core eight times, Houston 14 times, Chicago two times, Austin three times, Woodlands four times, and four in various other places), and 40 Triathlons. He was nationally ranked in Triathlons in his 70s. If you add up all of the mileage he has logged doing walking, running, swimming, biking, etc., then he would have circled the Earth 4.377 times!

He was always a very determined man and never stopped. He moved to Tupelo at 78 and soon thereafter the Aquatic Center opened. He successfully swam 3,000,000 yards in the Tupelo Aquatic Center. This was mostly done in his 80’s! For his 88th birthday, he swam 88 laps. The total amount of miles he swam over his lifetime was 7,000,000 million yards, which is like swimming from Tupelo to Anchorage, Alaska. The staff and patrons of the Tupelo Aquatic Center treated Cliff like a rock star!

Cliff was born into a pastor’s family and taught to love the Lord at a very early age. He has spent a life dedicated to Christ and has modeled Christ-like behavior throughout his life, serving as a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Lake Jackson, Texas, singing for over 50 years in a church choir wherever he lived at the time, and teaching three-year-olds in Sunday School. Our family finds great comfort knowing that he is safe in the arms of Jesus.

Cliff is preceded in death by his parents, George Raymond Wilson Sr. and Blodwen Paulus Jones Wilson; as well as his brother, Dr. George R. Wilson Jr.; and his sister, Blodwen Wilson Henry. He is survived by his wife of nearly 64 years, Emmalyn Phillips Wilson; his children, Lisa Wilson Browning, Dina Wilson Ray (Kenneth Ray), Clifford A. Wilson (Christie Chambers Wilson), and Philip N. Wilson (Lynn Poole Wilson); grandchildren, Reed Browning, Aidan Ray, Connor Ray, Griffin Ray, Bailie Wilson Roskow (Ian Roskow), Sawyer Wilson, Gage Wilson, Carter Wilson and Sydney Wilson; and great-grandchildren, Calvin Roskow, Vera Roskow and Bennett (Bennie) Roskow. In addition to his immediate family, he is survived by his sister Sara Wilson Davis and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo.

A Celebration of Life honoring Cliff will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Calvary Baptist Church with Dr. John Boler officiating. Burial took place at Reidville City Cemetery in Reidville, Georgia. Pegues Funeral Directors have been entrusted with the care of his arrangements.

Memorial donations may be made in honor of Clifford B. Willson to But God Ministries at www.butgodministries.com/donate, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org.

Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be left at www.PeguesFuneralHome.com.