Charles Lee Wilson, Sr., educational management consultant, 76 | Obituaries

Charles Lee Wilson, Sr., who spent a number of years as a educational management consultant, passed away on Friday, April 15, 2021. Wilson was 76.

Wilson had an educational management consulting firm, Enterprises for New Directions, located in Bethesda, Maryland. For 30 years, Wilson’s firm secured state and federal contracts providing educational management and administration services to colleges, universities and various departments of the federal government.

Wilson was born in 1941 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was named after his grandfather, a successful businessman and devout Christian who resided in Atlanta. He was the eldest son of William F. Wilson Sr. and Ethel Lee Strozier.

Wilson’s family relocated to Philadelphia in the early 1940s where at an early age he fell in love with the game of basketball. While he attended Edward Bok Technical High School in Philadelphia, his basketball prowess continued to grow. After making a name for himself in the legendary Sonny Hill/Baker League games where many professionals played in the summer, he caught the attention of All American basketball player and the late Hall of Fame Temple University head basketball coach John Chaney, who helped him earn a full scholarship to Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Wilson, the first in his family to attend college, handled the challenge and transition well. While playing point guard for Bethune-Cookman, he also pledged Kappa Alpha Psi and fell in love with fellow student Rose Greene. Ms. Greene was the daughter of James and Gladys Greene, a prominent family in Daytona Beach.

After graduation from Bethune-Cookman with a B.A. in education in 1964, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson relocated to Philadelphia, where he would earn a master’s degree in education from Temple University (1967) while working as a fifth grade teacher in Camden, New Jersey. After earning his master’s degree, Wilson was hired as the registrar for the Philadelphia College of Art, where he served until 1970.

In 1971, Wilson and his wife relocated to the suburbs of Washington, D.C., as he was hired as director of admissions at Howard University. After settling in Rockville, Maryland, two children were born to their union. Wilson’s position at Howard University provided him with significant access in Washington, D.C., and soon he realized that he could have a greater and more lucrative impact as an entrepreneur in education.

In 1974, he left Howard University to launch his education management consulting firm.

Wilson is survived by his two children, Angela Wilson and Charles Lee Wilson, Jr. (Chuck); two grandchildren, Charles Lee Wilson III and Theodore August Wilson; sister-in-law Patricia Wilson; nieces and nephews Derek Wilson, Deresa Wilson, Leslie Wilson, Rodney Wilson and Brian Wilson; nieces-in-law Helene Wilson, June Wilson and Sheena Wilson; great-nieces and -nephews Derek Wilson Jr., Domonique Wilson, Jhared Wilson, Rodney Wilson Jr., Darius Wilson, Laurel Wilson, Jarrel Wilson, Stephon Wilson, Brianna Wilson and Joy Wilson; and grand nephew King Wilson.

The homegoing service was held on Saturday, May 15 at Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne.