James Andrew Wilson

Born April 25, 1982, Walnut Creek, California

Portrait written by Nancy Wilson (mother)

James was a happy addition to the Wilson family. He was a charming little baby and was adored by his big sister and parents. When James was just six months old, his father was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. His mother and father were extremely preoccupied with treatments and interventions and spent quite a lot of time at hospitals during the early months of James’ life. When James was 23 months his father died, so he has virtually no memory of him. James was known to ask visitors or workers that came to the house if they would be his new father. Although there were some difficult times and some sadness around this loss, there was also some very nice times and a close relationship with his mother and sister to compensate. James developed a lot of friendships outside the family as well. He was often taken on vacations with other families. He was pleasant to be with and always had interesting things to talk about.

When Emily went off to college in 1998, James decided he would also like to be having an adventure away from home. He applied to AFS and was offered a place with a family is Brest. France. the furthest western big city in the country. During his year away he learned to speak very good French and discovered a lot about himself and the world. He graduated from High School in California in 2000.

James’ first inclination was to be a city planner. As a child he spent hours drawing all kinds of plans for various houses, cities, camps and landscapes. He spent his high school career day at the Walnut Creek City Planner’s office which convinced him that this was not the job for him. He wanted to leave home again. He received a very good scholarship from McGill University in Montreal and was able to use his French language skills there. He graduated in three years, also, as Emily, majoring in theater. After college James lived in Paris, completeing the theater program Emily had done, then moved to England with friends, then to Portland where he worked, then to San Francisco where he got his master’s degree at SF State. From there he moved back to England where he studied for his Ph.D. After which he moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue his career in teaching.