GUILDERLAND — James T. Wilson, a veteran and dedicated fireman, died peacefully on Saturday, April 12, 2014, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany. He was 88.

Mr. Wilson was born in Albany, the son of the late James T. and Jessie A. Roberts Wilson Sr.

He was proud to have enlisted in the United States Navy on Dec. 8, 1942, and proudly served his country during World War II, his family wrote in a tribute.

After the war, he was a master mechanic and managed King’s Shell Service Station, in McKownville, for 30 years.

“He basically was McKownville,” said his son, Brian Wilson. “If anybody needed help, they went to Jim Wilson.”

More recently, he was the Water Treatment Plant Operator for the town of Guilderland.

He was a lifetime member and the past assistant chief of the McKownville Fire Department, and dedicated 60 years of his life to the department.

His family wrote that he was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed traveling and gardening.

Jim, and his wife, Lillian, spent many joy-filled years wintering in Pompano Beach, Fla., they wrote.

“He will be remembered as a man of high integrity, selflessness, and a combination of strength and kindness,” wrote his family.

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Mr. Wilson is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Lillian O’Brien Wilson; his children, Dr. Susan Wilson O’Brien and Frank Treybal, Brian Wilson, and his wife, Julie, Barbara Wilson Keller, and her husband, Robert, and James T. Wilson III, M.D., and his wife, Meg; his grandchildren, Shelby Moore, and her husband, Ryan, Molly, Jessica, and Ben Wilson, and Lindsey and Owen Miller; and many dear brothers- and sisters-in-law.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial today, April 24, at 9 a.m., at the All Saints Catholic Church, 16 Homestead Ave., Albany. There will be no calling hours. Arrangements are by the Newcomer Canon Funeral Home in Albany.

To leave a message for the family, visit www.newcomeralbany.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the McKownville Fire Department, 1250 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203, or to the Stratton Veterans Affairs Hospital, 9th Floor Hospice, 113 Holland Ave., Albany, NY 12208.

— Anne Hayden Harwood