Warren Roy Wilson, 86, a longtime Westport resident, died February 6, in Wilton. He was born January 29, 1929, in Orange, N.J., the second child of Harry and Amelia Wilson.

Mr Wilson lived at The Greens, where he had moved in 2013.

His three children, Karen Wilson Orzechowski and her husband, James, of Newtown, Debbie Wilson Hoult and her husband, Robert, of Beaconsfield, England, and David and his wife, Myra, of Rowayton; five grandchildren, Christopher, Timothy, and William Hoult and Cameron and McKenzie Wilson; one great-grandson; and dear companion, Judy Ross, of Norwalk survive Mr Wilson. His wife, Ruth, predeceased Mr Wilson in 2010. His sister, Grace, and brother, Kenneth also predeceased him.

Mr Wilson attended Orange High School and started college at the University of Nebraska, before transferring to Columbia University, where he was a member of NROTC. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, the first member of his family to graduate from college, he was commissioned into the US Navy and served as a Lt Commander on the destroyer USS Porter at the end of the Korean War.

In 1951 Warren was married to Ruth Wyman, whom he first met in grade school, and after leaving the Navy the couple moved to Boston, where he received his MBA from Harvard. He subsequently worked for IBM for 15 years before starting his own company, based in Westport, which focused on sales and leasing in the emerging secondary market for computers. He retired in 1991 and a year later the Wilsons moved to Monroe.

An active member of Christ and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Westport, Mr Wilson was instrumental in starting the locally based Susan Lloyd Fund, which provides financial aid to cancer survivors who are attending college, and the Albie Loeffler Fund, which is named for the legendary Staples High School soccer coach, and which awards scholarship aid to Staples’ graduates.

For many years Mr Wilson was widely known for his encyclopedic knowledge and expertise about wine, a hobby that turned into a lifelong pursuit. He and his wife traveled extensively to wine regions around the world and he assembled an enviable wine collection that was housed in a cellar he built at his home.

A memorial service will take place at 1 pm, Friday, May 8, at Christ and Holy Trinity Church, 75 Church Lane, Westport.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Albie Loeffler Fund, c/o Dan Woog, Staples High School,70 North Avenue, Westport CT 06880.