Prince William sends-off Sue Wilson, mother of fallen firefighter

Sue Wilson walked out of the emergency room just after 7 o’clock Thursday night.

After 24 years as ER nurse, it was her last shift at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge. Her husband, Bob, and her grandchildren gathered outside to greet her.

As did her extended family — some 200 Prince William County firefighters and EMTs who stood in a receiving line, waiting to give to Wilson a proper send-off.

“This was so unexpected,” said Wilson. “I had no idea they were going to do this.”

Through the years, Wilson has seen many of these faces come in and out of the hospital, bringing in patients in need of treatment. But it’s her son, Kyle Wilson, who, at 24, was the first fire firefighter to die in the line of duty in Prince William County.

Kyle Wilson was killed in a house fire on April 16, 2007 on Marsh Overlook Drive in Woodbridge. Wilson went inside the house to search for occupants who were reported to still be inside. Once inside, strong winds from a passing Nor’easter caused fire rage and smoke to billow.

Wilson became trapped and never made it out. As it turned out, no one was inside the house, and no other injuries were reported.

Kyle Wilson, who graduated from C.D. Hylton High School, went to college to be an athletic trainer. But, after he joined the fire department, he had found his calling.

Wilson graduated from the academy and served less and a year as a full-time firefighter before his death. Sue Wilson said, as a nurse, she was an influence on her son when it came to his choice of profession.

“Sometimes I think that if I didn’t love my job so much, Kyle may have not chose the job he did,” Sue Wilson told Potomac Local News.

Her son’s memory lives on with an elementary school named in his honor just outside Dale City. There’s also an annual charity walk in Wilson’s honor held each year at Hylton high, with the exception of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, Sue Wilson, and her husband, Bob, will move on in their lives. Bob, who also has worked at the hospital as a patient greeter in the hospital’s surgical pavilion, will retire later today.

In retirement, Wilson says she plans to spend more time with her grandchildren, ages 1 to 6, and her husband. They share a house at Lake Anna, she said.