Robert Addison Wilson

Robert "Bob" Addison Wilson, 90, of Biloxi, MS, died on Tuesday, June 7, 2011. Bob was born October 14, 1920 in Bronx, NY. He was the last surviving grandson of 19th Century Hall of Fame power hitter, Dan Brouthers. Growing up in Manhattan and East Orange, NJ, Bob himself was a high school and collegiate tennis champion. Following graduation from Duke University in 1942, Bob served as a Captain and paratrooper in the US Marine Corps until 1946. He received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the fierce, tide-turning Battle of Iwo Jima as a company commander of the 28th Marine Regiment, known for the iconic US flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi. Following the war in 1947, Bob joined the FBI as Special Agent with assignments in San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans and Biloxi. He left in 1956 to work as a contract investigator, more often than not on the winning side, for high profile cases like Clay Shaw vs Jim Garrison, New Orleans, an off-shoot of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Jr. In 1961, Bob joined the Animal Food Corp. of Louisiana where he developed a national reputation as an expert on animal feeding. He held the position of Vice President until 1967 when he was appointed an Assistant Chief Investigator for the Louisiana Labor-Management Commission of Inquiry on Labor Racketeering. The remainder of Bob's career was devoted to private investigative work and entrepreneurial ventures. For many years a leading citizen of Ocean Springs and Biloxi, MS, and an active member of the local business community, Bob was known for his kind heart and gentlemanly disposition. He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles W. Wilson and Margaret Mary Brouthers, and brother, Marshall, also a WWII US Marine Corps veteran. Graveside services will be Monday, June 20, 2011 at 10:00 a..m. at the Biloxi National Cemetery. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Howard Avenue, Biloxi is in charge of arrangements.