Sim Wilson, former newspaper publisher of Marysville and Arlington papers, dies at 81

Published 11:29 pm Monday, February 9, 2009

MARYSVILLE — Sim Wilson, who was the publisher of the Marysville Globe and the Arlington Times for more than 30 years and served in the state House of Representatives for 20 years, died Sunday. He was 81.

Wilson had surgery at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton for kidney cancer late last month, his wife Karen Wilson said.

He was expected to fully recover and was scheduled to leave the hospital Monday, but collapsed on Sunday and could not be revived, she said. It’s believed he died from a blood clot or heart attack.

“He was just the kindest, most wonderful guy,” said Karen Wilson, who lived with her husband in Kingston. “He was always there for his family and friends. He loved to have a good time. He had a very generous heart.”

The couple met in Olympia in the 1980s when Karen Wilson, then known as Karen Schmidt, served as a Republican state representative.

State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, considered Sim Wilson a friend and a mentor. She and Wilson represented the same district and served for 10 years together.

“I am so sad,” Haugen said Monday.

Simeon Robert Wilson III was raised on Whidbey Island and moved with his family to Marysville after his father bought the Globe, Karen Wilson said.

Sim Wilson bought the paper from his parents in the early 1960s and ran it until he sold it in 1997.

He served in the Navy during the Korean War. He married Betty Rust in 1959 and they raised two children at the family home on Priest Point near Marysville, Karen Wilson said. Sim Wilson and his first wife were divorced in the early 1970s, according to family friend Don Wlazlak of Marysville.

Wilson was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1972 and served until 1992. Wilson did stints as chairman of the House Transportation Committee and the joint Legislative Transportation Committee and as House minority leader, said Wlazlak, who worked for Wilson in Olympia.

“He was one of my mentors,” Haugen said, though the two were from different parties.

“We worked on many issues together. We always worked together for the 10th District,” she said, which then included Marysville but now does not.

Haugen has served for many years as chairwoman of the Legislative Transportation Committee. Wilson had to talk her into serving on that committee, she said.

“It really wasn’t one of the things I was interested in,” Haugen said. “Sim told me to do it because it was important for the district. He was right.”

Wilson was a very moderate Republican, said Wlazlak, who worked on the transportation committee staff.

“He was an extremely well-liked legislator,” he said. “If it was right for his district, he supported it.”

Wilson kept African masks, artwork and pottery in his office, Wlazlak said.

Wilson and Karen Schmidt dated for 12 years before they were married in 1993, she said. Sim Wilson moved to his wife’s home on Bainbridge Island that year, and she retired from the Legislature in 1999. The couple traveled extensively around the world, Karen Wilson said.

In 1997, Sim Wilson sold the Marysville Globe and the Arlington Times to Sun News Inc., co-owned by Kris Passey and Bob Marshall. In 2007, Sun News sold the newspapers to Sound Publishing, based on Bainbridge Island.

“Every once in a while he’d come in and give me a job critique,” Passey said. “Always constructive. I liked him.”

In 2006, Wilson and his wife moved to a new home in Kingston.

“He was a good friend to a lot of people,” Haugen said. “He’s going to be missed.”

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439, sheets@heraldnet.com.