Chair
Deaconess Board
Majority Baptist Church, Hollis
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Aside from chairing the Deaconess Board of Majority Baptist Church in St. Albans, Deaconess Jurlease Wilson is also a member of the South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia Ministry, a member of the Willing Workers Ministry, and is active in Friday night prayer meetings.
PERSONAL: Wilson, who grew up in South Carolina, has been married to Deacon James Wilson for 41 years. The couple has three children and six grandchildren. The Deaconess retired in 2007 from Prudential Financial, where she worked for 22 years as Vice President of Operations for the Mutual Fund Division.
PROUDEST MOMENT: “My grandchildren,” she said with love. Wilson noted that three of her grandchildren are in college; one is set to graduate high school in May and plans to go on to college; one is in high school and the sixth is in seventh grade. “With prayer and strong family ties you can get through anything,” she noted.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “In my professional life, at a time when companies were downsizing and there was a lot of turnover in management, being able to work with multiple personalities,” said Wilson, who also noted that, “I’ve always been blessed to have a very good crew of people working for me.”
FAVORITE MEMORY: “As a youngster growing up in South Carolina, I had very strong grandparents that taught me I can be anything I wanted to be if I worked hard,” said Wilson, who attributes her corporate success to them.
INSPIRATION: Aside from her grandparents, Wilson said that she was motivated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “the struggles he encountered to advance African American people.”
