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SALT LAKE CITY — Former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson died Thursday at the age of 84 due to congestive heart failure and Parkinson's disease, his family announced.
"As the eternal optimist, he loved people and they loved him back. We are honored that his memory will live on in the legacy he built as Salt Lake City mayor, through the countless people he has taught and mentored, his decades of humanitarian service, and his mountaineering accomplishments," reads a statement from Wilson's family. "Ted's lifetime priorities were his family and public service. He built and nurtured many deep and meaningful friendships and would remind us all to 'never sweat the small stuff.'"
The statement added that Wilson passed away surrounded by his family.
Wilson, a Democrat, served as the 30th mayor of Utah's capital city from 1976 to 1985 and leaves behind a massive legacy in Utah politics.
Wilson's daughter, Jenny Wilson, is the current mayor of Salt Lake County, following in her father's political path.
Along with his time as Salt Lake City's mayor, Wilson in 1982 was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, ultimately losing to Republican Orrin Hatch. In 1988, Wilson was the Democratic nominee for governor of Utah, where he fell to Republican Norm Bangerter.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall expressed her condolences to Wilson's family in a post on the social platform X and thanked him for the plethora of roles he played in the history of Salt Lake City and the state, respectively.
"Ted Wilson was my mentor, my cherished friend and someone I could always count on. To this city, he was a giant and a champion. His legacy is a permanent thread in our city's story. He was a committed leader, a driver of progress and someone willing to listen, learn and evolve," Mendenhall wrote.
Ted Wilson was my mentor, my cherished friend, and someone I could always count on. To this City, he was a giant and a champion. His legacy is a permanent thread in our City's story. He was a committed leader, a driver of progress and someone willing to listen, learn, and evolve.… pic.twitter.com/uWMM0fBKEf
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 11, 2024
A Utah native, Ted Wilson attended South High School in Salt Lake City and then college at the University of Utah, receiving a bachelor's degree in political science before going to the University of Washington and earning a master's degree in education.
From 1957 to 1963, Wilson served in the Utah Army National Guard and was activated to full-time status during the Berlin crisis.
He went on to teach at Skyline High School for seven years and was also a prominent mountaineer, spending time as a mountaineering park ranger in Grand Teton National Park during the summer months from 1966 to 1969.
Along the Wasatch Front, Wilson's name is an important one when it comes to the history and establishment of rock climbing and mountaineering in the area. He was a member of the Alpenbock Climbing Club, a group instrumental in developing climbing routes throughout the Wasatch range.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday thanked Wilson for his long-standing commitment to public service in a post on the social platform X. "Ted always put people over politics," Cox wrote.
Abby and I express our deepest sympathies to the family of former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson. pic.twitter.com/qYUiKghsnT
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) April 11, 2024
Wilson served as the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah for 18 years, accepting the role immediately after resigning from his mayoral stint, saying he was "burned out."
The late, legendary KSL-TV news anchorman Dick Nourse in 2007 described Wilson as "one of the most remembered mayors."
