Late DeKalb restauranteur, artist Mary Wilson ‘made you feel like family’

DeKALB – Mary Wilson, an artist and former co-owner of the Hillside Restaurant in DeKalb, is being remembered by loved ones for her hospitality, service and passion for art.

Mary C. Gogo-Wilson died Sept. 24 at the age of 74, according to her obituary. She is survived by her husband, Gavin Wilson, and three sons, Jason, Holden and Adam.

City Manager Bill Nicklas said he was moved by hearing of Wilson’s death.

“It made me very sad,” Nicklas said. “I knew Mary for probably 40 years. I knew her when she was just waiting tables at the Hillside under previous ownership. She and her husband, Gavin, eventually pulled together the money with the help of – if I recall correctly – the previous owner and bought into the business and then became the sole owners.”

In her obituary, Wilson is remembered as “making every customer feel like they were her favorite.”

Nicklas recalled how trying the COVID-19 pandemic was to local restaurants which weren’t able to host indoor dining. He said in those times, he leaned on the Hillside Restaurant at 121 N. Second St. next to the Egyptian Theatre.

“I probably ordered something out four nights a week during much of that period,” Nicklas said. “I’m not much of a cook. I live alone and I work late, so they were always there for me. I ate sometimes two meals from them in the course of the day seeing them struggle through that. It only made her more important – not only important to me, but she grew in my admiration. Mary was very real. She was not afraid to tell you her opinion on things. Because I had a public job, I heard a lot of opinions. She was always kind, but she delivered her message, whatever it was. I think we had a good friendship and a level of trust between us.”

Owning a downtown staple restaurant wasn’t everything Wilson did. She was an apt and experienced artist, according to her obituary. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and taught college classes.

“Mary was born an artist with a natural gift for lines and gestures, color and space, the absurd and the original,” her obituary reads.

In an email, Sycamore resident Mary Ozgowicz said Mary Wilson will be missed dearly.

Ozgowicz said she frequented the Hillside Restaurant often before it closed its doors in 2023.

“Mary just made you feel like family at the Hillside when you went there,” Ozgowicz wrote. “The Hillside was always DeKalb’s greatest secret. I was super sad to see it go but understood why. You only knew about The Hillside if you were from here so it kept it small and cozy, but everything was homemade and fresh for you as you ordered it. It was like you were at Mary and Gavin’s house and she made dinner for you.”

Ozgowicz expressed appreciation to the Wilson family for allowing the community to get to know who Mary Wilson was.

“Thank you for sharing such a wonderful woman with us and giving us The Hillside,” Ozgowicz wrote. “I wish there were people like her in this world. My prayers and sympathies go out to you all.”