City founder focused on holiday

June Casagrande

On Christmas Day, about 20 members of the Wilson family will gather

to celebrate the holiday with gifts, food and, most important,

family.

Bob Wilson’s only wish is to be there sitting in a chair, basking

in holiday fellowship of four generations.

Only time will tell whether that’s a possibility or just a

beautiful holiday dream. Wilson, co-founder and three-time mayor of

Costa Mesa, is near the end of his life. The 86-year-old civic

leader, author, historian and great-grandfather is home under hospice

care for a terminal heart condition, and he says he doesn’t know

whether he’ll make it to Thursday.

“I just want to be there, sitting in a chair, watching everybody

enjoy themselves,” Wilson said in a phone interview at his Costa Mesa

home.

Over the past 50 years, Wilson helped grow Costa Mesa from an

untamed piece of land nicknamed “Goat Hill” to a diverse metropolis

of about 100,000 people.

“He was definitely one of the moving forces in incorporating the

city 50 years ago,” said Gladys Refakes, a spokeswoman for the Costa

Mesa Historical Society and a longtime friend of Wilson’s.

Wilson was just a concerned citizen when he joined a movement to

incorporate the city. When that dream came true in 1953, his

half-century-long role in the city began. Wilson was appointed a

planning commissioner in 1953 and served as the commission’s chair.

In 1960, he was elected to the City Council, where he served through

1976, including three stints as mayor. He has also served on more

boards, commissions and other bodies than he or anyone else can seem

to count.

In between, he racked up a list of experiences that has helped

fill several books. An autobiography he completed earlier this year

details some of his fascinating life experiences, including being one

of a group of American mayors taken hostage in Beirut in the early

1970s, his early years as an adopted child and, of course, his

marriage to Maryalice, which has lasted 65 years.

His more famous book, “From Goat Hill to City of the Arts: The

History of Costa Mesa,” published in 2000, documents some of his own

experiences in building a city he could be proud of.

“We do have, without question, the finest shopping center in the

United States. We have one of the finest performing arts areas,

plenty of parks,” Wilson said. “I’m very proud of what we did.”