Obituary of Jill L. Wilson

“When you get the choice to sit it out or dance…I hope you dance.” Jill Lee Wilson of Tampa FL passed away on December 4th, 2018 at Excel Care Center nursing home after a stay in Florida Hospital for sepsis. Even on her last day on earth, she was planning the future, looking forward to Excel’s Family dinner party Dec 20th, calling friends and family to remind them to be on time for once. She was born Joan Moehling in Chicago, IL and was the middle child of 3 children of Norma and Arthur Moehling. She legally changed her name to Jill at 16. From the time she could walk, Jill took ballet lessons and performed alongside her aunt and Chicago Dance Masters’ Ballet Mistress, Bernice Holmes. An extraordinary ballerina and influential teacher to stars like Gene Kelly, Bernice nurtured Jill’s dancing talents and saw great potential in her. By the time Jill was in her teens, she was 5 foot 11, too tall and heavy for classic ballet. Jill was devastated; that was the only career she wanted to pursue. Jill worked at Washington National Insurance in downtown Chicago most of her life, vowing to move to Florida the minute she retired. In 1985, she and 3rd husband Jim Wilson moved to Land O Lakes FL into a mobile home in a senior community. Jill really embraced the sunshine state and all it had to offer. She enjoyed swimming, nature walks, bingo, outdoor festivals, roller coasters and, of course, dancing the night away at VFW posts. In later years, Jill was confined to a wheelchair but still twirled the chair around to crooner songs on the radio, smiling in remembrance of being queen of the dance floor and the most sought after partner in every lodge. She never lost her spirit, her sense of humor or appetite for life’s next adventure. Jill was preceded in death by husband Robert Gifford Zuehlke, husband Jim Wilson and sister Volley Betty Hogg. She is survived by her daughter Lorrie MacDonald, son David Alan Zuehlke, daughter-in-law Michele Durante, granddaughter Kelly MacDonald and brother, Jack Moehling. A celebration of her life will be conducted in Tampa, FL at a later date.