Francis died On July 17, 2008 in his Toronto home at the age of 96. He was born in Waterloo, Ontario to Philip Valentine Wilson and Kathleen Mackenzie. After graduating from Trinity College at the University of Toronto with a B.Comm. in 1933, he began a successful career in banking. When war broke out, he worked for the Wartime Industries Control Board, and enlisted in 1942.

He landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day and remained in active service until the war ended as Captain and Forward Observation Officer, Royal Canadian Artillery, 3rd Division. Until his death, he maintained contact with Dutch friends living near the main Arnhem Bridge, the "Bridge-Too-Far". After the war, he returned to banking, pursued his interests in golf, birding, and economics, and became a successful private investor.

He was predeceased by his brother Albert and his sisters Marion Connell and Ellinore Ginn, and is survived by his son Philip, Philip's wife Catherine, their sons David and Robert, and by his daughter Jane.

The family wishes to thank all of the caregivers from Integracare, and the staff of the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care. At his expressed wish, no special functions to mark his decease are planned, and funeral arrangements were private.

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