Louise Wilson, 96, died on June 23, 2026. She was best known as a Kentucky icon in women’s golf. Her love and respect for the game were unequaled, as is the legacy she leaves behind. Through her passion and talent for golf, Louise inspired many young golfers through the decades.

She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 29, 1929, to Celia Hirsch Camentz and Walter Herman Camentz. At age 12, she discovered her passion for golf while playing at the Cherokee Golf Course near her home. That discovery led to a remarkable career, including course and tournament records that remain unsurpassed to this day. She was a ten-time winner of the Falls City Women’s Championship with victories stretching from 1952 to 2003. She also saw national success as a quarterfinalist and semifinalist in the USGA Women’s Amateur Golf Championship in 1961, and a runner-up in the USGA Women’s Senior Amateur Golf Championship in 1985.

Louise was inducted into both the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame. She served as director of the Women’s Southern Golf Association and is past president of the Women’s Kentucky State Golf Association. The Kentucky Golf Association still awards the “Louise Wilson Player of the Year” trophy annually to the state's top-performing mid-amateur female golfer. This award remains one of the most visible legacies honoring her contributions to women's amateur golf in Kentucky.

A remarkable milestone in her career came in 1985 when Louise won the Women’s Kentucky State Amateur in Owensboro at age 55, 22 years after her previous State Amateur championship.

Wilson graduated from Atherton High School in 1947 and is a member of the Atherton Hall of Fame. She graduated from the University of Louisville in 1951, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority and active in college athletics. She is also featured on the University of Louisville Walk of Fame.

In 1956, Louise married Gaines Pirtle Wilson, Jr. and they had four children. She is survived by her daughters, Ellen Wilson and Jennie Wilson (Jason Thomas); her son, Archibald Wilson; her brother, Ernst Camentz; her grandson, Gaines Thomas; a niece; and three nephews. She is predeceased by her husband, her son, Samuel, her sister, Emmeline Camentz Frank, and her nephew, Albert Camentz.

She was a lifelong lover of dogs. From a young age, she was never without a canine companion. The family requests that donations be made to the Kentucky Humane Society, 1000 Lyndon Lane, Suite B, Louisville, KY, 40222; https://www.kyhumane.org/donate/. There will be a private family burial at a future date.