Edgar Byron Wilson

Edgar Byron Wilson, known to many as Ed or E. B. of Chatham, MA, passed away peacefully on November 15, 2025, at the age of 94 with his wife Betsy at his side.
Born in Albany, New York, he graduated from the Milne School and earned a BA degree from St. Lawrence University where he was a member and officer of Beta Theta Pi.  He graduated from the Harvard Business School thereafter and later served two years in the US Army.  In 1956 he married Betsy, and they were together for 69 years.  Ed’s professional life first led the couple to New York City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Manilla, Philippines.  As he built a career in consumer goods marketing, he later rose to CEO positions that took them to Manhattan, Tokyo, and Paris. In 1976 he was honored to serve as one of five Americans invited on a rare “citizen-to-citizen” visit to the People’s Republic of China.
After retiring from corporate life, Ed devoted himself to higher education, governance, and mentoring. For 17 years he developed a national reputation for his work with university and nonprofit boards, forging a two-decade-long relationship with the Association of Governing Boards. He authored numerous publications on effective trusteeship and served as chair of the board and several committees at St. Lawrence University, which later awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his impact. He was also appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Public Education Nominating Council of the Commonwealth.  
Service was a lifelong calling for Ed. He held leadership roles with the Boston Conservatory, the Executive Service Corps of New England, the Chatham Historical Society, Eastward Ho! Country Club, San Francisco Ballet, and the Central Park Conservancy. In his final decades, he found spiritual grounding in St. Christopher’s Church in Chatham.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Ed cultivated an extraordinary range of personal passions. He was a voracious reader of history and biography, a devoted follower of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, an enthusiastic fan of the Red Sox and Patriots, and a joyful cook who loved entertaining a crowd. He embraced the maddening challenge of golf, served on many corporate boards, and remained a dedicated runner.  Later in life, he embraced new creative pursuits, including the study of oil painting and the competitive intrigue of bridge.
He will be missed dearly and remembered always.