On July 3rd, The Rotary Club of West Austin lost a dearly loved member, Aubrey Linn Wilson. Just last October, the club celebrated Aubrey’s 100th birthday. It was a great celebration during which Aubrey displayed his characteristic warm smile.
On July 3rd, The Rotary Club of West Austin lost a dearly loved member, Aubrey Linn Wilson. Just last October, the club celebrated Aubrey’s 100th birthday. It was a great celebration during which Aubrey displayed his characteristic warm smile.
Aubrey was an immensely proud graduate of the University of Texas & soon went to work for IBM. One of his first & amazing sales of the top-of-the-line mainframe computers was to Texas A&M, the first mainframe on their campus. How ironic. Due to his efforts, he was then assigned as the Account Manager for EDS (Electronic Data Systems) account. His direct contact with the owner was none other than H.Ross Perot, then a recovering IBM employee, which only made this relationship all the more challenging. Most of us recall that Mr. Perot was a very interesting & challenging character. However, due to Aubrey’s patience & mastering of sales process led to Aubrey ultimately becoming a legendary salesperson in the IBM organization. In the end Perot & Aubrey became friends because of Aubrey’s “service above self,” approach.
At 100 years of age, Aubrey was, as they say, sharp as a tack which was demonstrated during a presentation, he gave the club detailing the early days of IBM.
Aubrey’s wife of seven years, Kay, is also a member of the Rotary Club of West Austin. A memorial service was held on July 10th, 2025. The service was attended by 75% of the club’s membership. Yes, Aubrey, you were truly loved!