Rex Wilson remembered: ‘He was everybody’s friend’
Staff writer
Friends, co-workers, and students remember Rex Wilson as a talkative, upbeat man who worked hard to instruct and inspire those around him.
One of the most popular teachers and coaches ever at Marion High School, died Feb. 1 at 87.
Wilson, who moved to Marion in 1964 to teach math and coach track and cross country, frequently had students over at his house. He continued tutoring even after his retirement in 1999.
April Ogden grew up near Wilson on Roosevelt St. She knew him starting at age 6 and visited often.
“If there was a tornado siren that went off, we all went sprinting over there,” she said. “Every Christmas, we’d go over after my sister and I opened our presents, and we’d show him what we’d gotten.”
Ogden attended Marion High School from 1982 to 1986, where Wilson was her teacher and coach.
As a coach, Wilson helped her improve her distance running, showed her how to throw a discus, and encouraged her to take up javelin.
“They didn’t have javelin for girls when I was in high school,” she said. “He worked with me so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself.”
Wilson had been an All-American in javelin at Fort Hays State. Thanks largely to his dedication, Ogden went on to be an All-American in javelin at Barton County College.
“He definitely established those foundational skills,” she said.
Wilson was teacher, coach, and tutor for many students.
“He probably spent more evenings with me teaching math than he did at school,” said Greg Carlson, who attended Marion High School in the 1970s. “He was someone that was so kind, willing to spend extra hours working with me.”
Ruth Herbel added that Wilson “was just one of those teachers that was in it for the kids.” Wilson was her daughter Kristy’s favorite teacher, Herbel said.
“I don’t think I ever heard him turning down a kid who needed help,” Herbel said.
Wilson was described as a talkative man by his coworkers.
“Rex was a wonderful guy, and he loved to talk,” said Helen Reznicek, who taught at Marion High School from 1968 to 1999. “And that was fine; that was Rex.”
Reznicek recalled that every time she went to the bathroom, she would pass Wilson’s classroom and often would stop and make conversation.
“He was a great guy,” she said. “Couldn’t find a better one.”
Marion Ogden, April’s father and a phys ed teacher from 1974 to 1999, remembered a bubbly personality.
“He enjoyed a laugh,” he said. “He had a big barrel laugh. I used to tell him jokes all the time. All the students of Marion High School enjoyed Rex.”
Ogden was Wilson’s neighbor for 18 years, and the two were close.
“We conversed on a daily basis,” he said.
Their families vacationed together, and the pair enjoyed attending Kansas University basketball games together, Ogden said.
Ogden was Wilson’s second-in-command as high school track coach until 1984, when they swapped roles.
Never one to shy away from responsibility, Wilson also served as assistant coach for a number of sports.
Wilson’s decades of coaching led to him being honored at a state meet in 2015 in Wichita.
Lloyd Davies, Wilson’s neighbor on the 400 block of Elm St. since 2006, sat next to him at the meet. He recalled being stunned at Wilson’s encyclopedic knowledge of athletes.
“He was literally handicapping every race,” he said. “He knew all the kids. It was just amazing.”
An article in the event program mentioned Kansas’ Jim Ryun, the first high-schooler to run a sub-four-minute mile.
Ryun ran sub-four five times; no other high schooler would accomplish that for 36 years.
“I mentioned the thing in the program, and Rex goes, ‘Oh, yeah, I was here,’” Davies said.
Wilson, apparently, had attended one of Ryun’s historic runs in the ’60s.
“It was like being at the moon landing,” Davies said.
As neighbors, Davies spent quite a bit of time with the Wilson family.
“Him and his wife, Margaret, it was great to live next door to them,” he said. “He was personable as all get out.”
Wilson liked to work with his hands. He’d sharpen Davies’ shovels and hoes in the fall and built him two different bird-feeders over the years.
“He was always doing something nice for somebody,” Davies said.
One of Davies’s favorite memories of Wilson took place on a dock in his backyard.
“He’d go down there and feed the catfish with a Folgers can,” he said. “Just bang on the dock with it, and they’d come to eat. There’d be 25 bullheads and catfish coming up out of the water.”
The preserving memory of Wilson is of a man given to such acts of kindness, as well as one who worked hard to coach, tutor, and inspire future generations.
After college, April Ogden decided to become a teacher. She now works at Wabaunsee Junior High in Alma.
“I steered away from math,” she laughed. In her free time, she coaches javelin and track, helping to pass down the same techniques she learned from Wilson years ago.