Lynn R. Wilson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Wilson Products Co., died Tuesday, March 2, in Salt Lake City of an apparent heart attack. He was 79.
Mr. Wilson collapsed at work and was taken to Pioneer Valley Hospital where resuscitation attempts failed, according to a company spokesman.He started the company in 1938 with his wife, the former Eva Durrant, when they decided to furnish salads to a Salt Lake grocery store store chain. From their house, the Wilsons produced potato salad and later added macaroni and cole slaw.
When sales dropped after the summer of 1938, the Wilsons needed some new products to keep them busy in the winter, so they starting making and selling chili and tamales. Today, the company sells $12 million worth of products in several Western states, and the company employs 180 people at its 1811 W. 1700 South plant.
Born July 13, 1913, in Riverside, Idaho, Mr. Wilson attended Pocatello High School and then Idaho State College before transferring to the University of Utah, where he studied art.
The Wilsons incorporated their business in 1958, and employees were allowed to purchase stock. His wife died in 1984.
In his activities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mr. Wilson was bishop of Princeton Ward for four years, was president of the Highland Stake, was a member of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association presidency in the Highland Stake and also served on the Explorer Committee of the YMMIA. At the time of his death, Mr. Wilson was a Highland Stake patriarch.
He was a member of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the Utah Manufacturer's Association, an organization that named him businessman of the year in 1985.
Funeral will be at noon Saturday in the Highland Stake Center, 2738 S. Filmore. Viewing will be Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 S. Highland Drive, and from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Saturday at the stake center. Burial will be at Wasatch Lawn.