James Robert Wilkinson died at the age of 91 on Nov. 19, 2021, at Peach Creek Assisted Living in College Station.
Funeral services will be held at Sneed Funeral Chapel at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23, with Dr. Rick Willis officiating. The family will greet friends at 2 p.m., prior to the service.
Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery.
James was born on June 20, 1930, in Lampasas to Quincy Nevitt Wilkinson and Lizzie Alice Klose.
He grew up in Lampasas and graduated from Lampasas High School in 1948.
After high school, he attended trade school in Houston, then joined the Army in 1952 and served for two years during the Korean War. He was discharged in 1954, with the rank of private 2nd class.
After his time in the military, James began work for Bell Telephone as a lineman for six years. He then moved back to Lampasas to begin his own telephone company, Wilkinson Communications.
James was involved at First Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon starting in 1965, as a children's Sunday School teacher, and on various committees.
He married Kathryn Anne Bowne in 1959 in Houston, and they were married for 37 years until she died in 1997.
James enjoyed hunting, camping, fishing, spending time with family and tinkering with anything mechanical. He was creative and innovative when trying to solve mechanical dilemmas. He never threw anything away, "knowing" it could be used to build something later.
James was preceded in death by his wife, Kathryn; brothers Cecil Wilkinson and Edwin Wilkinson; and sisters Jewel Wilkinson Jones and Cleta Mae Wilkinson Meredith.
He is survived by his son Robert Darrell Wilkinson (Melinda) of Pelzer, South Carolina; daughter, Kathryn Denise Wilkinson Michaelis (Monroe) of Lake Charles, Louisiana; son Darren Wayne Wilkinson (Audra) of Bryan, Texas; grandchildren Zachary Wilkinson (Melody), Joshua Wilkinson, Amber Michaelis Swieczkowski (Marcin), Marcus Michaelis, James Michaelis, Jonathan Michaelis, Jazmine Michaelis, Matthew Wilkinson (Katy) and Meghan Wilkinson Griffith (Luke); great-grandchildren Abigail Wilkinson, Lily Kate Wilkinson, Samuel Wilkinson, Gabriel Wilkinson, Addison Wilkinson, and Harper Mae Griffith; and nieces, nephews and other relatives.
Memorial donations may be made to The Gideons International.
