SALT LAKE CITY — Inside the Salt Lake City & County Building, a memorial has been placed to remember Ted Wilson.
There is his official portrait to mark his terms as Salt Lake City mayor from 1976 to 1985, next to his portrait as director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. Scattered around are photos and mementos of his long life in public service and activism.
Members of Wilson's family gathered on Monday to place some of the photographs and political cartoons there, hugging and reflecting on his life.
"It's been gratifying to see how deep his impact was. People loved my father and he had an impact on so many different walks of life," said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson.
Wilson died last week at age 84 from congestive heart failure and Parkinson's disease, his family said.
"He was my best friend. He was my muse. He helped me when I had writer’s block frequently," said Wilson's wife, Holly Mullen, an editor at The Salt Lake Tribune. "I will miss him and I'll be talking with him every day for the rest of my life."
Said Wilson's youngest son, Joey: "A lot of gratitude has come with the grief. We’re just grateful for everything he did for us."
Before he was Mayor Wilson, he was their loved one. His children spoke about how he would step away from the pressures of running the city to be with his family.
"Growing up here was so much fun," said Missy Larsen, another of Wilson's daughters, as she looked around the hallways of City Hall. "My dad was so much fun. He was just a really, really fun dad. He showed up. He was so busy running a city and yet when there was something at East High when I needed him? He showed up."
Mayor Jenny Wilson said she has been touched by how many people knew her father from his work as an educator.
"He mentored so many young people. Prior to that as a teacher at Skyline High," she said. "I think more than political associates, it’s been the students that have come up to me over the years and said 'Your dad changed my life.'"
Mullen described her late husband's childhood as "very humble."
"He came from not much money. His father died when he was 14 and he basically had to take over the home and help his mother," she said. "He learned a lot of valuable lessons from that. He learned you don’t have to fight with people to get what you want."
Wilson had a reputation in Utah political circles as someone who could build consensus. A lifelong Democrat, he was often called upon by Republican governors to serve and negotiate tough issues facing the state.
"My dad was larger than life," said Jessica Begum, another of Wilson's daughters. "I want people to remember him for the legacy he leaves, how fair he was in politics, how he listened to everybody even if they didn’t agree with his personal political stance."
Larsen said her father wanted everyone to get involved in politics and be part of the public process.
"He wanted people to make a difference whatever their belief systems were," she said.
Joey Wilson said his father was able to understand so many different points of view.
"Better than anyone I can think of," he told FOX 13 News. "He always had the ability, whether it was different political parties and different perspectives, he had the ability to empathize and understand many arguments to the same question."
Governor Spencer Cox has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until Friday in tribute to Wilson. A public memorial service is being planned for May 17 at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah.
