( CNN ) -- He 'd said his daddy always told him that a fool never changes his mind . And Elwin Wilson did n't want to be a fool . Wilson , a former Ku Klux Klan member who apologized for his racist past and specifically for beating a black man who went on to become a U.S. congressman , has died . He was 76 . Wilson came to national attention when he publicly apologized to Georgia Rep. John Lewis . He and his friends attacked Lewis at a bus station in South Carolina some 50 years ago . `` My daddy always told me that a fool never changes his mind , and a smart man changes his mind . And that 's what I 've done , and I 'm not ashamed of it , '' Wilson told CNN 's Don Lemon in 2009 . `` I feel like I 'm apologizing to the world right now . '' Lewis , who appeared on the same show , said he forgave Wilson . `` It is very much in keeping with the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence , to have the ability , the capacity , to say I 'm sorry , forgive me , and the person that received the attack will say you 're forgiven . Because hate is too heavy a burden to bear , '' Lewis told Lemon . He said that Wilson was the first and only person who had attacked him and apologized for it . `` Maybe Mr. Wilson will inspire others to come forth , '' Lewis said . Wilson died Thursday at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill , South Carolina . He was a native of Gaston County , North Carolina , and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force , according to an obituary on a funeral home website . Wilson loved to collect antiques , especially clocks . He is survived by his wife , a son , two grandchildren and a great-grandchild . The cause of his death was not immediately clear . `` He was a good man , '' said Christopher Hope Wilson Sr. , Wilson 's son . Funeral services are scheduled for Monday . CNN 's Chandler Friedman contributed to this report .
Elwin Wilson apologized for beating up Clyde Lewis at a gas station some 20 years ago . He died Thursday at a hospital in South Carolina . Wilson is survived by his wife , a son , two grandchildren and a great - granddaughter .