Wilson Arthur Rootsey died aged 89 at home in Indialantic, Florida on February 18, 2026.

Wilson was born in Margate, Kent, England on December 14, 1936 to Violet and William Rootsey. He was the first son of four children. In 1948, his family immigrated to Vancouver, B.C., Canada, then to San Francisco, California. In 1978, Wilson and his wife and children moved to Florida, where he remained for the rest of his life.

In his lifetime, he mainly worked in the print field; working his way up from a newspaper delivery boy to a press operator to a typing pool supervisor. His work took him from California to Hawaii to New Zealand, where he met his former wife Diana Stewart, then to Australia, and back to the United States.

In his personal life, he enjoyed gardening and taking care of the wildlife around his home. More often than not, he could be found working on a compost pile, or gathering his latest batch of fruits, whether it be avocados, papayas, mangos, figs, or bananas. He also loved to listen to records and cassette tapes of The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, ABBA, Del Wood, and Olivia Newton-John.

He was a loving father to his two children, and a doting grandfather to his three grandchildren. He always looked for ways to help his family whenever he could, whether it be teaching his daughter how to drive, throwing a baseball with his son, or babysitting his grandchildren. He loved to make home videos of his family, immortalizing milestones with his camcorder.

Wilson left behind his former wife Diana Stewart, daughter Tania Rootsey, son and former daughter-in-law Glen Rootsey and Nubia Rootsey, three grandchildren Christopher and Daniel Rootsey, and Isabella Rootsey, and sister Penny Clemm.

Wilson was preceded in death by his parents Violet and William Rootsey, sister Ena Thorne, and brother James Rootsey.