Teena McMills just sent word that PR pro Karol Wilson’s life will be celebrated on Sunday, June 12, at Activity Hall at Trinity Groves, 3015 Gulden Lane, at 3 p.m.
While friends and professional associates are still adjusting to the news of her May 16th death, they are being comforted by sharing memories of their relationship with the award-winning “longtime writer, PR director, philanthropist and self-proclaimed foodie.”
Monica Greene: “The greatest dignity to be found in death is the dignity of the life that preceded it. Karol cultivated a long list of friends, and she did it by always trying to help.”
Diane Brierley: “When Karol and I worked on the Paws Cause calendar together, Karol would come up with the most fantastic pet-related quotes. She was a wealth of knowledge. She truly believed in the ‘Cause.’”
Katy Menges: “Karol was a walking compendium of every charity event and social organization in the city—and who ran it.”
Dean Fearing: “Karol was a charm to work with at the Mansion on Turtle Creek. She was doing my PR and I was always so busy from her actions, I kept telling her to slow down, but she never did. She said you have to do it while the iron is hot. So I kept quiet from then on!”
Dotty Griffith: “Karol was my friend and a respected professional colleague. She was as dedicated to our professional organization for women in the food and hospitality industry as to her many other causes.”
The occasion will be so typical of Karol with Les Dames d’Escoffier hosting the celebratory refreshments, and requests for “donations to one of her favorite organizations, Paws Cause, are being accepted in care of the SPCA of Texas.”
And, yes, Karol’s devoted and much beloved rescue dachshund, Daisy, is being cared for. After all, Karol wouldn’t have parted this world without planning for Daisy’s well-being.
For the loving obituary written by Teena, please follow the jump.
Longtime Dallas PR Specialist Karol Wilson Leaves Lasting Legacy for Friends, Colleagues and Local Charities
By Teena McMills
God’s PR department just got a new boss.
Karol Wilson, whose witty retorts, attention to detail and penchant for all causes charitable made her an indelible fixture on the Dallas public relations scene for decades, has laid her pen to rest. The longtime writer, PR director, philanthropist and self-proclaimed foodie, peacefully passed away in Dallas on May 16, 2016. She was 57.
The sad news surprised legions of friends and colleagues, who regularly communicated with her through social media, where they were drawn to her acerbic wit and self-deprecating manner on topics ranging from the trendy and light-hearted to the serious and sublime. Only those who knew her best knew that, behind the scenes, she had been bravely battling complications of liver disease. Even that she downplayed, calling trips to the hospital “va-cays” and continued to promote her favorite causes throughout.
PARTIES FOR A PURPOSE
Best known for her professional party prowess and public relations acumen, Karol was a true veteran of the Dallas social scene, having had a guiding hand in countless charitable events that helped shape the city’s signature philanthropic profile. Her contributions to–and sustaining involvement in–institutions such as Heart Ball, Garden Club, Junior League, Zoo-to-Do and Les Dames D’Escoffier are well-known to many.
But, perhaps, less known is that Wilson truly reveled in bringing awareness to many underdog groups, which, with her help, were able to secure necessary funding for much-needed causes. She quietly secured sponsorships and patrons for many volunteer groups and served as a volunteer herself.
At the news of her passing, tributes from those who worked with her on charities large and small flooded in, each recalling her kindness to their cause. Former restaurateur Monica Greene praised Wilson’s ability to bring people together. “The greatest dignity to be found in death is the dignity of the life that preceded it. Karol,” says Greene, “cultivated a long list of friends, and she did it by always trying to help.”
Without a doubt, one of Wilson’s most passionate undertakings was her work with Paws Cause, an auxiliary of the Dallas SPCA that helps raise money for Dallas’ pet shelters. Her love of animals was well known and Wilson’s own beloved pet dachshund Daisy, a rescue dog, was often the inspiration of her Facebook posts. “When Karol and I worked on the Paws Cause calendar together,” says Diane Brierley, a veteran volunteer of the organization, “Karol would come up with the most fantastic pet-related quotes. She was a wealth of knowledge. She truly believed in the ‘Cause.’”
Wilson’s intricate knowledge of the city’s myriad organizations was legendary. Says longtime friend Katy Menges, who partnered with Karol during the founding days of the Heart Ball and the Dallas Young Republicans in the early ‘80s, “Karol was a walking compendium of every charity event and social organization in the city—and who ran it.” In 1990, Wilson was awarded the Debra Sue Payne Award by the American Heart Association, the highest award with the Dallas Heart Ball organization for leadership and raising of substantial funds for heart research.
From star-studded, swanky soirees to offbeat community fundraisers, Wilson always combined the same professionalism and passion, much of which she first honed during her days at Austin’s Anderson High School, where she excelled on the Trojan Belle Drill Team and later at the University of Texas at Austin, where the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority member studied communications and was involved in various student government committees. Wilson remained a loyal Texas Exes booster throughout her life, faithfully celebrating every Texas-OU game rain or shine.
BEHIND the LUXE LIFE
Wilson first burst onto the Dallas PR scene in the early ‘80s. Her resume includes helming the Hyatt Regency PR Department, followed by high profile public relation stints at Dallas’ Mansion and Crescent Court hotels, where she deftly coordinated the five-star properties and promoted the comings and goings of Dallas’ elite as well as national celebrities passing through town. Chef Dean Fearing remembers Wilson’s tenaciousness well. “Karol,” he says, “was a charm to work with at the Mansion on Turtle Creek. She was doing my PR and I was always so busy from her actions, I kept telling her to slow down but she never did. She said you have to do it while the iron is hot. So I kept quiet from then on!”
In later years, she also anchored a regular column in Park Cities People and was a food editor and features writer for Beverly Magazine in addition to working with clients through her own company, K. Wilson Communications.
Her PR expertise earned her numerous awards, including a Dallas Press Club Katy Award as well as “Best of Texas” and “Silver Spur” awards from the Texas Public Relations Association. In addition, she was also named one the “40 Under 40,” a prestigious award by the Dallas Business Journal that honors 40 business people under the age of 40 who have emerged as leaders of the Dallas community. She also participated in a program of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce that focused on the needs of the city.
FOOD and FUN
Throughout her career, Wilson’s spatula was as mighty as her pen and she pursued her culinary calling with like-minded epicureans in Les Dames D’Escoffier. “Karol was my friend and a respected professional colleague,” says Dotty Griffith, also a member of Les Dames’ Dallas chapter. “She was as dedicated to our professional organization for women in the food and hospitality industry as to her many other causes.” A culinary highlight for this self-proclaimed foodie was not only being twice awarded blue ribbons for her entries but being asked to be an annual food judge at the State Fair of Texas, a volunteer job she faithfully undertook for many years.
A CELEBRATION of LIFE
She is survived by legions of friends, family and colleagues. A celebration of Wilson’s life will be graciously hosted by Les Dames d’Escoffier Dallas on June 12 at 3 p.m. in the Activity Hall at Trinity Groves, 3015 Gulden Lane, Dallas, Texas 75093.
In lieu of flowers, donations to one of her favorite organizations, Paws Cause, are being accepted in care of the SPCA of Texas, 2400 Lone Star, Dallas, TX. 75212.
Teena McMills is a local teacher, former editor, writer and longtime friend of Karol Wilson