Lorraine G. (Button) Wilson

Lorraine G. (Button) Wilson passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, following a very brief illness. Born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 30, 1942, and raised in Gloversville, New York by her parents Clarence E. Button and D. Irene (Wrisley) Button, Lori was a 1960 graduate of Mayfield High School in Mayfield, New York, where she lent her voice to the school choir. Throughout her childhood and into her young adult years she and her mother enjoyed scouting with the Girl Scouts of America. Lori spent her summers as a camp counselor, introducing younger scouts to the joys of scout-style wilderness camping. She also enjoyed hiking and mountain climbing, and scaled some of the highest peaks in the Adirondacks. As a Girl Scout Mariner, she was an expert swimmer (and a senior Red Cross lifeguard), and an avid water skier who loved speeding her motorboat across Great Sacandaga Lake and Tupper Lake in New York State. After graduating, Lori worked in administrative positions in central New York. By the late 1960's, she made her way to Rochester, NY and a position with Xerox Corporation, where she would meet her loving husband of 51 years, Richard C. (“Dick”) Wilson. The couple married in 1971 and quickly welcomed a son, Andrew. For most of the next 15 years, Lori was a doting mother, a devoted wife, and a full-time homemaker. When not laughing with her family and friends, she enjoyed spending time tending the family's yard and garden, painting, mastering sewing, crafting, and knitting projects, playing cards, and keeping her bowling skills sharp. She was never afraid to try something new and challenging, always striving to be her very best. When she returned to the workforce in the late 1980's, she brought her considerable organizational skills to bear as office manager at the Norman Howard School, a Rochester-area school serving students with special learning needs. Lori and Dick retired to Florida in 1998, where they enjoyed golfing and exploring local festivals and restaurants with friends and family. Lori was a voracious reader, and retirement gave her the welcome opportunity to complete dozens of books each year. She always had a New York Times crossword or word puzzle by her side, and she defeated most of them. Lori never gave up her love for creative projects, and in addition to sewing, quilting, and knitting, she dove enthusiastically into photography, scrapbooking, paper crafts, and later, digital greeting card and stationery design projects. She was a fantastic wife, mother, and friend, always ready with some sound, common-sense advice to help with any situation, and her friends and family will miss her annual homemade birthday and holiday cards. In retirement, Lori and Dick adopted Daisy Dogg, a small terrier with the good fortune to become the apple of Lori's eye for the next 16 years. In later years, Lori was fond of joking how much she and Daisy enjoyed becoming old ladies together. Lori was preceded in death by her husband (Richard C. Wilson), by her parents (Clarence E. Button and D. Irene Button), and by Daisy Dogg. She is survived by a son (Andrew J. Wilson), by her sister (Charleen A. (Button) Vickery), and by two nieces (Cathy Chutz and Carly Martin), a grand-nephew (Christopher Chutz) and a grand-niece (Emma Martin). Interment will be at Dicksonburg Cemetery, Conneautville, Pennsylvania, alongside her husband. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to The Norman Howard School of Rochester, New York (www.normanhoward.org), to the Girl Scouts of America (www.girlscouts.org), or to the Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org).

Lorraine G. (Button) Wilson

July 30, 1942 - March 19, 2025