Rex Wilson, age 78, died in a farm accident September 24, 2025, at his farm near Paton.
Father Bill Schrieber celebrated the funeral mass at St Columbkille Catholic Church in Churdan. Internment was at the Paton Township Cemetery.
Rex was born Nov. 16, 1946, in Jefferson, the son of Jesse and Nadine Wilson of Paton. He graduated from Paton-Churdan in the class of 1965.
Hee married his high school sweetheart, Virginia Squibb, on Sept. 17, 1966. To this marriage two sons were born and raised in Paton.
From hauling cattle with a semi and pot in his early teens by himself to various states as far as Montana, to hauling ag products by semi at the conditioned age of 78, Rex had many colorful experiences in between. He worked for many great companies and people along the way. To list a few of the stand outs: Iowa Army National Guard, various ag services, car and semi sales, motor home sales, and semi driver. Rex always did what it took to get the job done. He routinely outpaced co-workers, sometimes decades younger, by starting his workday several hours before them and some days working 16 hours straight, if that’s what it took.
He never embraced the idea of retirement, as his only joy in life, outside of his passion to work, was spending time with his beloved family and many friends, along with attending his grandchildren’s activities. His “number” was definitely the number 1, Number of wives (Virg) – 1, Number of homes lived in as an adult – 1, P.O. Box Number in Paton – 1, Number of times meeting him before he made you feel like family – 1, and he was the Number 1 husband, dad, and grandpa (Papa Rex). Some people stand out in life due to how much wealth they have accumulated or stand out because of a fancy title or degree behind their name, but those that truly knew Rex had a clear image of why he stood out. It was the ability that he had in making them feel special, smile and laugh. He gave the best hugs, treated everyone like family whether they were blood or not, and could recite joke after joke, without hesitation or slipping up, always nailing the punchline, and really could tell a story with the best of them. A few sayings and segments of jokes from his collection (most often recited by Rex) – – –
◊◊◊ “Hooray hooray for the first of May, outdoor sewing :-) starts today.” ◊◊◊ “You know we are related, right? my mother and your mother are both mothers.” ◊◊◊ “Love ya, girl.” ◊◊◊ “I quit golfing due to always getting hurt climbing down from the ball washer.” ◊◊◊ “♪♫Rye Whisky, Rye Whisky ♫♪” ◊◊◊ “Crown and cherry coke please with NO grenadine!” ◊◊◊ “I’m semi-retired, in a semi full time.” ◊◊◊ “Come on in, we’ll treat you so many different ways you’ll have to like one of them.” ◊◊◊ “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose.” ◊◊◊ “But by the time I got the words out & she looked over, the dog was licking his …..” ◊◊◊ “♪♫I wish I would’ve known ya, when you were a little younga ♫♪” ◊◊◊ “I’ve backed up more miles that you have driven forward.” ◊◊◊ “I was born at night, but not last night.” ◊◊◊ “If I knew I was going to live to be this old, I would have taken better care of myself.”
Rex is survived by his wife Virginia of Paton; sons Kevin (Merry) Wilson of Bondurant and Bradley (Brandy) Wilson of rural Scranton; grandchildren Kameron (Jamie), Trevor (Ryan), Tyler, Jake, Nick, Allysha (Nolan), Collin, Caden (Abby), Allyssa (Kaleb), and Tanner; great-grandchildren Danika, Gabby, Jack, Devan, Viviana, and Waylon; brother Roger (Dorena) Wilson of Jefferson; sisters-in-law Ellen Wilson of Webster City, Judy Wilson of Paton, and Linda (Tom) Carr of Geneseo, IL; brother-in-law Bob (Kelly) Squibb of Waukesha, WI; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; infant sister Victoria Wilson; brothers Robert, Richard, Raymond (Jane), and Russel (Lois) Wilson; and brothers-in-law Eldon (Julie) Squibb and Darwin (Adabel) Squibb.
Services were arranged by Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home and Cremation Care, Jefferson.
