John Ferdinand Willson, 79, of Woodstock, GA, passed away peacefully on August 15, 2025. A Brooklawn, NJ native, John adored his adopted home in the South, witnessed by his embrace of all things Clemson University, from which he graduated in 1967.

In John's early career, he had been a math teacher in Florida, where he met his first wife, Gloria. He worked as a regional manager for several hotel chains and for a property management company in Houston, Texas.

He later took those skills to the Federal Reserve Bank where had a long and successful career, from which he retired in 2005. In 2006 he and his second wife, Susan, moved to the popular community of Big Canoe, in North Georgia, where you could find him—adorned in Clemson orange—playing golf or walking his beloved dog, Morgan.

John loved to travel and tell jokes. He will be sorely missed by those he leaves behind including his wife, Susan Willson; two sons, Adam and Aaron (m. Brandie); two stepchildren, Sean DeVore and Ashley Pieper (m. Scott); grandchildren, William and Samuel Pieper; a brother, Tom (m. Kathy) and a sister, Pat Nelson (m. David); nephews, Scott and Kevin Nelson, Andrew and Michael Willson, and niece, Sarah Caitlin.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 225 N Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601.