Frances Olwen Wilson was born in 1931 in Birmingham. She won a scholarship to King Edward's Girls' High School and then went to Birmingham Medical School. She went on to hold junior medical posts in Birmingham and Stoke. After marrying Tony Wilson in 1956, she moved to Hale, Manchester. Tony became a consultant physician at the Hope and Salford Royal hospitals. Olwen and Tony raised three children: Jo, Ianley and Anne. During the early stages of family life, she worked in general practice as a general practitioner. In 1970 she became a partner in Windward General Practice working closely with Brian Sides and worked there for over 25 years with a strong clinical interest in palliative care. After opening in 1979, she took up a volunteer position one day a week as medical director at the Hospice of St. Anne in Little Hulton.