Tracey Morgan Wilson, Ph.D.

Tracey Morgan Wilson, Ph.D. mother, wife, sister, grandmother, teacher, historian, civil rights champion, LGBTQ+ pioneer and documentarian of the lives of West Hartford’s enslaved people, died at 70 after living with melanoma since 2016. Born in 1954, the daughter of Bill and Mac Wilson grew up in Granby with her three brothers, riding their bikes, playing tennis at the Granby Tennis Club, swimming in Huggins Gorge and skiing on winter weekends. She earned her BA and MA in History from Trinity College, and her Ph.D. from Brown in History. She played squash, tennis and lacrosse at Trinity. After college, a 10-week summer program in Africa solidified lifelong interest in social justice after she visited Senegal, a major embarkation center for centuries of the slave trade. She was passionate about teaching history to students in West Hartford for 38 years, 36 at Conard. Twenty years ago, she developed a Local History and African American History class still offered today. She wore red and grey every Friday to school, showing her Conard spirit. She commuted to Conard each day by bicycle. Tracey was a leader in promoting open access to Advanced Placement (AP) History classes for all high school students. Summers were spent at St. Johnsbury Academy teaching AP History teachers. She was proud of her work at Conard with students outside the classroom too including: Empty Bowls (addressing hunger), coaching, the Gay Straight Alliance, and retiring the school's stereotyped mascot. She helped win equal pay for women's coaches. Later in her career she helped initiate both the middle school Gay Straight Alliance and an LGBTQ+ teacher alliance after facing discrimination in her teaching role. She led human rights exchange trips to South Africa bringing students to Robben Island and other human rights sites. She became West Hartford’s town historian in 2004, and wrote a monthly column on local history for 15 years for West Hartford Life. Her columns were compiled into a book, Life in West Hartford, in 2018 (https://lifeinwesthartford.org). After her retirement, Tracey turned to researching and teaching about the legacy of slavery in West Hartford. She and her colleagues, Liz Devine and Denise DeMello, worked with hundreds of students on Witness Stones and Hidden History, chronicling the lives of 95 enslaved people. Her research and work with students and community members led to changes in the West Hartford landscape, including: adding Prut’s name to the War Memorial, renaming Dinah Road, the Blue Back Civil Rights Mural, Unity Green, a Lemeul Haynes memorial, and placing witness stones for more than 60 enslaved residents in the Town Center cemetery. She was a key participant with WHAASCO in naming Bristow Middle School for an enslaved resident who bought his freedom. In the last weeks of her life, she was still planning classes stressing the humanity, ingenuity and contributions of the enslaved residents for students. She also attended meetings to plan the town’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, working to incorporate the perspectives of all who lived here in 1776 into that commemoration. She knit sweaters and hats for family and friends over several decades, finishing her last sweater for a nephew last month. She loved the outdoors, the mountains and the seashore, especially Provincetown. She and Beth loved bringing family and friends together, and hosted many joy filled celebrations. She wholeheartedly cheered on UCONN Women’s Basketball for three decades. Tracey was active at the Universalist Church of West Hartford, serving as a member of its governing board and as moderator. The church community helped sustain her through a long and challenging illness. The family is ever grateful for UCONN Health Center and Dr. Hegde, Dr. Tannenbaum, and countless nurses and aides who cared for Tracey over the last 8 years. NIH sent her home in 2017 predicting 8-12 months to live, but Tracey and her UCONN team had other plans. Her family and friends’ love and support also played a key role. She leaves her wife, Beth Bye; children Peter Wilson, of Chicago; and Adam Brown (Alexa), of West Hartford; Caroline Bye (Joshua Silver), of Washington, D.C.; and Brittany Bye (Kevin Apodaca), of Brooklyn; brothers Michael Wilson, and his wife, Cindy, of Duxbury, MA; David Wilson of Mahopac, NY; and Matthew Wilson, of Medford, MA; 11 nieces; 12 nephews; 15 cousins, and granddaughter, Ivy Morgan Brown. She and her wife Beth were very proud to be the first gay couple married in Connecticut. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Foundation for West Hartford Public Schools, 50 South Main St. #420, West Hartford, CT 06107 https://fwhps.org/page/donate-now for teacher grants in Tracey’s name. Tracey’s funeral will be held on March 6th at the Meeting House of First Church of West Hartford, 12 S. Main St. at 11:00 AM, followed by a reception in her honor at the West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium, 50 S. Main St. West Hartford. Live-Stream Funeral Service (11:00 AM): https://www.youtube.com/@whfirstchurch/streams Live-Stream Town Hall Celebration of Life (12:30 PM): https://youtube.com/live/S9DNXSEXh54

Tracey Morgan Wilson, Ph.D.

February 23, 2025