[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 7 (Thursday, January 17, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E39]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR ROBERT ``BOBBY'' WILSON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday January 17, 2008

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, Baldwin County and indeed the entire state 
of Alabama recently lost a dear friend, and I rise today to honor and 
pay tribute to the memory of Mr. Arthur Robert Wilson.
  Known to his many friends as ``Bobby,'' he was a devoted family man 
and a dear friend to his community. Bobby, the ``Unofficial Mayor'' of 
Spanish Fort, was the owner of Wilson's Service Center for roughly 50 
years. Wilson's Service Center was much more than a typical service 
station; it was the heartbeat of Spanish Fort. As Mobile's Press-
Register remembered Bobby, ``just about anyone who passed through 
Spanish Fort seemed to have encountered him.''
  Known for his insatiable work ethic, Bobby ``rose with the chickens'' 
and was often at the service station before 5 a.m.--he never seemed to 
stop working. Bobby's service to Spanish Fort did not stop at the doors 
of Wilson's Service Center. For 26 years, he served as the volunteer 
fire chief, keeping a red phone and firefighter's gear in his shop for 
emergencies. Bobby also served in the U.S. Army and was a veteran of 
the Korean War. He was a justice of the peace and a Mason; it's 
probably safe to say that everyone in Spanish Fort knew Bobby Wilson or 
at least knew who he was.
  In a fitting tribute, Bobby's casket was placed on the back of a tow 
truck for his final trip through Spanish Fort. His procession, which 
included about 12 other tow trucks, cars carrying his family, and a 
police escort, drove to Wilson's Service Center, passing through the 
parking lot and under the front awning. All along the route to Wilson's 
Cemetery, fellow residents stopped and got out of their cars to stand 
along the route with their hands on their hearts.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a 
dedicated community leader and friend to many throughout south Alabama. 
Bobby Wilson will be deeply missed by his family--his wife, Jo Anne 
Wilson; his daughters, Tracey Goens and her husband Robert, Gina Lee 
and her husband Thomas, and Joelle Wilson; his brothers, Earl Wilson 
and Charles Wilson; his sister, Louise Dahlen; his grandchildren, 
Jeffrey Mosley, Jonathan Mosley, Jasmine Lee, and Zackary Lee; his 
great-grandchild, Lola Jo Anne Mosley--as well as the countless friends 
he leaves behind.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this difficult time.

                          ____________________