John Dee Wilson caught a ride to the Cumberland College campus, now University of the Cumberlands, in 1956. Dr. J. M. Boswell and Mrs. Ann Shelley helped Wilson center the Elementary Education program. Two years later he graduated with a teaching certificate and a passion fr his vocation that spans six decades.
Wilson was born in Wallins Creek, Kentucky and received his formative education at Green Hills, a two room school covering grades 1-6, in Bledsoe, Kentucky. He attended Beech Fork, a three room school with grades 7 & 8, in Leslie County before graduating from Loyall High School in Harlan county in 1956. Wilson participated in each sport offeredd at the time he was in high school. He played center field in baseball, guard in basketball and running back and linebacker in football. He never missed a practice in high school and had to hitch-hike home across Pine Mountain following team practice, a testament to the charater he continues to instill in his players and coaches today.
He was the first basketball coach and started teams at Green Hills, 1958, Pine Mountain Settlement School, 1960, and Red Bird Mission School, 1988. When Wilson arrived at Green Hills and Pine Mountain there were only outside basketball courts. He built indoor facilities for both schools.
Wilson's teaching career covers 21 years in Harlan County, 9 years in Webster County, and 21 years and counting at Red Bird HIgh School where he is Head Basketball Coach and Athletic Director. At the elementary and junior high level, Wilson's coaching record is 280-60 with 8 county championships. At the hgh school division his coahcing record stands at 530-312. His Loyall basketball team won the Kentucky Junior High School Championship in 1974 while earning a trip to the National Junior High School Tournament. For his career, the record stands at 810 wins and 372 losses. Wilson was featured in a basketball documentary on ESPN.
As a coach and teacher, Wison has been honored to receive over forty laques, certificates and awards. He states, "The Lord has blessed me and my family. I thank HIm for Cumberland College. Cumberland gave me a good education, permitted me to play basketball and baseball which I loved and prepared me well to serve others in teaching and coaching for fifty-one years. I have never had to work a day in my life."
He is married to the former Mary Katherine Bowman, a Cumberland alumna, from Putney, Kentucky. They have two children: Kathy Nelson of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and Jeff Wilson (also a Cumberland alumnus) of Harlan, Kentucky. The Wilsons are proud grandparents of Matthew, Mary Katherine and Jennifer.
