Dorothy Flanagan Wilson

Lakeland - Dorothy Ann “Dot” Flanagan Wilson died Saturday, March 31, 2019 at Hawthorne Inn of Lakeland. She was born November 1, 1932 in Lakeland, the daughter of E.C. “Pat” and Nell Flanagan. She was the youngest of three children. She attended Dixieland Grammar School and was the Valedictorian for the Lakeland High School Class of 1950. She then graduated from Stetson University with a Business Degree. Both her father and grandfather served as Mayor and City Commissioner of Lakeland. Her parents owned Flanagan’s Paint Pot in downtown Lakeland. She married Burl Wilson on October 16, 1954. Dot and Burl were married for 55 years, until his death in 2009. She served as Office Manager for her husband’s Lakeland construction business, Burl Wilson, Inc., which operated for 49 years. Dot was also active in her children’s activities, serving as President of the Dixieland Elementary PTA and leading a Cub Scout pack. Although she was a lifelong permanent resident of Lakeland, Dot loved spending time at her vacation home in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and Burl would stay for five months each year, following their retirement. She enjoyed everything about life in the mountains. Dot was a long-time member of First Baptist Church of Lakeland, before joining Shepherd Road Presbyterian Church. She was also a member of Lone Palm Golf Club for many years. Dot enjoyed reading, listening to music, and traveling with her husband on golf vacations. Her enduring passion, though, was baseball, and her devotion to the Atlanta Braves. She was highly organized, persistent, always early, and was marked by a fierce loyalty to her family. Dot’s family is grateful for the staff of Hawthorne Inn, who cared so well for her during her final years of life, and for the caregivers of Cornerstone Hospice who provided exceptional, loving end of life care. In addition to being predeceased by her parents and husband, Dot was preceded in death by her sister, Marion, and brother-in-law, Tot. She is survived by her brother, John P. “Pat” Flanagan, and his wife, Anna, of Lakeland; her sons, Burl Wilson, Jr. of Lakeland, Bobby Wilson and his wife, Diane, of Sylva, North Carolina, and Steve Wilson and his wife, Susie, of Gatlinburg, Tennessee; by her eight grandchildren, Daniel Wilson and his wife, Jessica, Travis Wilson and his wife, Danielle, Adam Wilson, Mary Beth Wilson, Jeremy Wilson, Andrew Wilson, Melissa Lynn Sigmon and her husband, Steve, and Emily Diggs; by her five great-grandchildren, Bryce, Connor, and Myles Wilson, and Amelia & Parker Wilson; and by her cousins, nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held Saturday, April 6, 2019 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. at Heath Funeral Chapel, with a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel. Memorials may be provided to Cornerstone Hospice, 2140 E. County Road 540A, Lakeland, FL, 33813, or to your favorite charitable organization, in Dot’s honor.