A Mass of Christian Burial for Paul Mike Wilson, 70, of Newark, will be held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 10:30 A.M., Tuesday, October 3, 2023, with Fr. David Sizemore as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery with military honors provided by the Licking County Veterans Alliance.

Mike, a United States Army 101st Airborne Division Vietnam Veteran in Intelligence, died at Licking Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. He was born in Elizabeth, West Virginia on December 12, 1952, to the late Ward and Sarah (Thorne) Wilson.

A graduate of Athens High School, Mike received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Ohio University and worked as an investigator with the Vinton County Prosecutor's Office. He then joined State Farm as an investigator in 1981 and worked until his retirement in 2013.

As an avid outdoorsman, Mike enjoyed camping and fishing, and was a certified scuba diving instructor. He searched for buried treasure with his metal detector and on several occasions was able to reunite found items with their original owner. He liked to run and had completed several marathons.

Alongside his many hobbies, Mike was an amazing storyteller and jokester. He could captivate the room with his stories and always had a joke to make people laugh.

Mike was a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church and member of the Lions Club, Masonic Lodge, and played the bagpipes in the Columbus Shriners Bagpipe Band.

He will be greatly missed by his wife of 44 years, Anne (Hemm) Wilson; children, Paul (Diana) Wilson, Patrick (Rosanna) Wilson, Jennifer (Kel) Berg, and Kathryn Wilson; 3 grandchildren (with one more soon to be born), Laina, Mila, and Rhett; sister, Barbara Williams; and nieces and nephews.

Calling will be held at the Reed-Egan Funeral Home, Newark, 5-7 P.M., Monday, October 2, 2023, with a Vigil and Masonic service held at 6:45 P.M.

Memorials in Mike's name can be made to The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute through

https://www.giveto.osu.edu/makeagift/details/313545

To share your memory of Mike or leave a condolence for the family, please visit www.reedegan.com