Former Trustee Patricia Maxcy Wilson Helped Transform Stetson Athletics

Pat and Patricia Maxcy Wilson in 2006.
Patricia Maxcy Wilson

Patricia Maxcy Wilson first enrolled in college in Washington, D.C., but called her mother the first week, wanting to return home to her small Florida town of Frostproof.

Her parents took her to Mars Hill College in North Carolina, but Wilson called again, saying she didn’t like it there, either.

Her parents said: “You stay right there until we find a school that will take you,” recalled Wilson’s daughter, Cindy Henry, of Lake Wales. And they enrolled Wilson at Stetson, where she graduated in 1947 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Wilson, 90, a Stetson supporter who served on the Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1996, passed away unexpectedly March 19 at her home in Lake Wales, Florida. She was in excellent health and maintained an active lifestyle until her last day, according to the Lakeland Ledger.

Pat and Patricia Maxcy Wilson in 2006.
Pat and Patricia Maxcy Wilson in 2006.

Wilson felt at home at Stetson and thrived, playing every intramural sport available and joining Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She met her future husband at Stetson — the late Peyton (Pat) Wilson, Bachelor of Science, ’49. They later ran the family business in citrus, cattle ranching, banking and development, and had five children.

Her love of sports and her alma mater remained throughout her life. Her substantial donations allowed the Wilson Athletic Center to be added in 1997, the Maxcy Residence Hall in 2006 and the Patricia Wilson Softball Field in 2008.

She also provided annual student athletic scholarships for the Stetson Baseball and Softball programs. She received Stetson’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1981 and was inducted into Stetson’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, the same year she was named Stetson University Trustee Emerita.

“Stetson just fit her,” said her daughter. “It was a small-town feel. She loved the people there. … It was the one place that I think she finally felt at home.”

Henry’s son, Seddon, is now a junior at Stetson, majoring in Communications and playing third base for the Hatters Baseball team.

“She finally got a grandchild there,” Henry added. “She was so proud to say he goes to Stetson and he plays Baseball.”

Stetson University President Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D., credited Wilson and her late husband with transforming Stetson’s athletics program.

“Patricia was fortunate enough to live life on her own terms,” Libby said. “She was feisty and straightforward; you knew where you stood. I like to think that when she learned that this northerner liked grits, I moved over to her favored column.

“Together with her husband, she transformed Stetson’s athletics program. And generations of students will benefit from living in Maxcy Hall. She was one-of-a-kind, and luckily for us, a proud and supportive Hatter.”