Robert E. Wilson

Robert E. Wilson (1933-2026) had a love of life and loved to bring joy to others through stories and music. Below are links to a book he wrote and some recordings of him playing the ukulele, guitar and piano. You are welcome to enjoy these online or download them.

Life's Lessons Learned

Life's Lessons Learned book cover

Bob wrote a book called "Life's Lessons Learned" that is a collection of stories and observations from his life that teach a story. After his stroke in 2019, his son Randy recorded him telling some of the last few stories he had planned to include, and typed them up and edited the book.

Feel free to read the book online here, or download a copy to read later.

Read online: Life's Lessons Learned Download PDF
Cover: (Book cover) Download PDF

Or, if you would prefer a printed copy, it is available (for the cost of printing and shipping) at Lulu.com. Get printed copy

Memorial

An open house and graveside service were held for Bob Wilson in Eugene, Oregon, and a memorial service was held in West Jordan, Utah on May 9, 2026.

You can watch the memorial, including a life sketch slide show, and also hear some memories of friends from the open house.

Robert E. Wilson's Life in Revue

Here is a 32-minute video recap of Bob's life. It includes a few pictures of parents and siblings, pictures of growing up, some pictures of his wife Jean's childhood, and then pictures of their courting and wedding. When it gets to the mid-1960s, it begins including a lot of silent movie footage.

Towards the end, it includes the song "Let the Rest of the World Go By", which he sang as part of a performance at a restaurant with the "Ukulaneys" ukulele club. It shows how good he was at leading a crowd as he entertained. He got everyone to hum along, and then when they got the joke at the end, they all spontaneously sang along with him.

Bob Wilson was sometimes described as "larger than life", and loved to bring joy to others through music. He also served relentlessly, helping people move, serving as a scoutmaster and in other church "callings", fixing people's broken stuff, and so on. And he was an awesome dad and devoted husband. We will miss him.

Morgan the Mouse

Bob on banjo

Bob often took a white handkerchief, folded and rolled and tied it in front of little kids, said some magic words, and brought it to life!

It would suddenly jump like magic, causing the kids to squeal with delight! In this 7-minute video, recorded by his friend Charles Fischer, Bob shows how to make a "Morgan the Mouse" out of a handkerchief.

Music

Music is an important part of Bob's life. He discovered the ukulele in high school and would play it to entertain friends and family. He played the guitar for many groups including family, friends, church activities and boy scouts around the campfire.

Ukulele Videos

Bob was great on the ukulele. He placed in a Pacific-wide talent show contest in the U.S. Navy playing his Five Foot Two uke medley. Below are links to five videos on YouTube of Bob playing various songs on the ukulele. The first one ends with his epic Five Foot Two performance.

Audio Recordings

He recorded some of his favorite songs, which you can listen to or download below.

Click the button to expand the list. Click the triangle to play a song, or you can download individual songs or download a zip file of the whole folder.

1920 Ukulele Gems

Bob learned a lot of cute old 1920s songs from his mother, Gladys Gray (Wilson), who sang in a quartet in high school in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. (Her quartet won a state quartet competition). 1920 Ukulele Gems

Download album: 1920 Ukulele Gems - Bob Wilson.zip

More Ukulele Favorites

Here are a bunch more of his ukulele favorites

Download album: ukulele-favorites.zip

Uke Solos

And here is a list of other ukulele songs recorded earlier.

Download album: uke-solos-pats-collection.zip

Mormon Folk Songs

Bob gathered a collection of Mormon folk songs and performed them on several occasions. He used to pass out a CD of these, and those songs are listed below.

Download album: mormon-folk-songs.zip

Guitar Favorites 1

Bob played the guitar around the campfire with family, friends and Boy Scouts. The following four collections are some of his favorite songs.

Download album: Bob Wilson - Guitar Favorites 1.zip

Guitar Favorites 2

Download album: guitar-favorites-2.zip

Wilson Family Songs, vol. 1

Download album: wilson-family-songs-vol-1.zip

Wilson Family Songs, vol. 2

Download album: wilson-family-songs-vol-2.zip

Piano

Bob learned to play piano by chord and would sometimes play hymns by ear, with a rag-time left hand plunking out the chords. His signature piano piece was "Maple Leaf Rag", which he would often play while people were putting away chairs at a church activity or such. He also played a version of "St. Louis Blues" that he would improvise.

▶Maple Leaf Rag, played by Robert E. Wilson⬇
▶St. Louis Blues⬇

Banjo

Bob played the banjo a bit as well. We liked to tease him with things like the quote from Mark Twain: "A gentleman is a man who can play the banjo...and doesn't!"

The picture below shows us plugging our ears (without him knowing) while he played the banjo, which went along with this teasing.

Bob on banjo

Here is Bob playing "Turkey in the Straw", which was a favorite of his kids when they were litte.

▶Turkey in the Straw⬇

Tulane Barbershop Quartet (1955)

Bob sang in a barbershop quartet during his time at Tulane University. Here is a collection of songs they recorded on reel-to-reel tape in 1955.

Tulane Quartet

Download album: 1955-tulane-barbershop-quartet.zip

Tulane Barbershop Quartet with Bob on Banjo Uke

Bob also recorded a few songs with the Tulane Barbershop Quartet as he played a "Banjo Uke" (Plays like a ukulele but sounds kind of like a banjo).

Download album: 1955-tulane-banjo-uke-songs.zip

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