James Ray Wilson age 85, of Oxford, Ohio, died on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at The Knolls of Oxford. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on March 7, 1930, the son of Ruth (Walther) and Ray C. Wilson.

Jim grew up on the family farm at Shandon, Ohio, and was active in the Boy Scouts, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated in 1948 from Ross High School, where he served as president and valedictorian of his class. He was graduated from Miami University in 1952, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and remained close to his fraternity brothers throughout his life.

He entered the NROTC program at Miami, and served active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1952-1955. Jim married Carolyn Dempsey on February 1, 1952, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford, and they enjoyed 63 years of marriage.

After he received his Master’s degree in economic geography at the Ohio State University in 1956, Jim joined Cargill, Inc., starting off as a grain trader. Cargill’s Management Committee called him their “man for all countries” and their “pioneering entrepreneur”, who “had the foresight to see what needed doing and the talent for getting it started”.

He lived and worked around the world, serving as president/manager of Cargill operations in the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Switzerland, Singapore and England. While working at Cargill, Jim received his Ph.D. in economic geography from the University of Minnesota in 1984. He and his family traveled the world throughout his 32-year career with Cargill, and upon retirement he and Carolyn returned to his Ohio roots.

Jim taught in his field of international business and economic geography at Miami University and the University of Cincinnati following his retirement from Cargill. He and Carolyn subsequently started a used and rare bookstore, Books in Shandon, which they ran for 16 years.

Jim was a lifelong member of the Shandon Congregational Church. He also joined his wife in worship at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford.

He was preceded in death by his parents. Jim is survived by his wife, Carolyn Dempsey Wilson, his children Robin Wilson Baker (Jay), Victoria Wilson Fernandez, Mark Walther Reynolds Wilson and Jamie Wilson (David Ericson), and by grandchildren Maria Victoria Gaige (Brandon), Jimmy Baker, Julia Baker, Sean Ericson and Henry Ericson, and by his sister, Jill Evans and her husband John M. Evans, M.D., and their children and grandchildren.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, April 26, 2015 from 2-4 pm at the Charles Young Funeral Home, 4032 Hamilton Cleves Road, Ross, Ohio. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford, OH.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be directed to: The Shandon Congregational Church, P.O. Box 45, New London Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 56, and Morgan Township Historical Society, P.O. Box 20, all in Shandon, Ohio 45063. www.charlesyoungfuneralhome.com