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Laura Wilkinson, wife of former mayor, remembered for love of community

Laura Leigh Wilkinson, 74, of Double Oak passed away March 25, 2015 after battling diabetes and kidney disease.

Below is her obituary :

Laura was born in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia on December 12, 1940.  She lived in Carrollton, TX for 30 years and moved to Double Oak in 1994.

In 1960 she joined Beta Sigma Phi, a service sorority.  Later, a sorority sister set her up on a blind date with her beloved husband, William Wilkinson who passed away 51 days before her.  Bill immediately fell in love with Laura’s infectious smile, gorgeous dimples, and sweet spirit. They were married for 51 years.

Laura was a much loved wife and beloved mother.  Family was everything to her.  Both Laura and Bill believed in education and giving their children every opportunity to achieve all their interest and goals in life.  Therefore, Laura was PTA member, band booster, soccer booster, soccer coach, involved in church league sports, and the definition of Mom. She was also instrumental in helping her son achieve his goal of “Eagle Scout” at the age of 13 years.  She was a Girl Scout leader and helped her daughter achieve her goal of “First Class” award in the Girl Scouts.

Laura loved babies!  She took great pride in welcoming thousands of babies with complete and accurate birth certificates at the Trinity Medical Center in Carrollton.  In later years, the apples of her eyes were her own grandsons, Andrew and Travis.  She worshiped them.

In 2000, Laura was awarded the “International Award of Distinction” by the International Executive Council of Beta Sigma Phi, a 1,000,000 member strong international service sorority. During the last 55 years she was chapter and council sweetheart countless times, held every position at the chapter and council levels, and named Woman of the Year numerous times.  For years she was the “Sunshine Chairman”.  She treasured her sisters dearly!

Laura adored her community of Double Oak.  Every time she walked into a room she would pass along a hug and a smile.  She joined the Double Oak Women’s Club and worked on the Planning and Zoning Commission. She was a very patriotic person.  You always knew Laura was driving by, because her automobile had every kind of patriotic sticker on it.  She had a very large flagpole proudly flying the American flag.   The Dallas Morning News even did an article on her.  Laura also encouraged every person to vote in every election.  She even served as an election judge or clerk for election days.

Her hobbies included collecting, playing games (especially bunco), and traveling with family. She had numerous state coin collections, dolls, and, anything strawberry just to name a few collections.  She also was the biggest Dallas Cowboy fan on the planet!  After every game, win or lose, she would go outside and yell “Go Cowboys!”

Laura is survived by her two children, Michael Ray Wilkinson and his wife, Sandra (Gaddis) Wilkinson, of Richardson, TX and daughter Vicki Ann (Wilkinson) Hall and her husband Brian Hall of Keller, TX; her two grandsons, Andrew Alan Hall and Travis William Hall; twin sister Shurley (Tucker) Robinson; many nieces and nephews.

Laura is preceded in death by her husband William Guy Wilkinson, parents Mary Sue (Mayberry) Tucker, George Benton Tucker, Loy Benjamin Cross, her niece Samantha Robinson, her sister-in-law Alice Gertrude (Wilkinson) Falconer; her two brother-in-laws, Theodore Wade Falconer and Thurman Wayne Carver.

A viewing will be held on Sunday, March 29, from 3-5 p.m. at Restland Funeral Home at 13005 Greenville Avenue in Dallas.

The Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 30, in The Memorial Chapel at Restland Funeral Home, 13005 Greenville Avenue at Restland Road in Dallas, with Pastor Craig Rodgers officiating.

A memorial service will be held in Double Oak at a later date.

To share comments and stories about Laura, visit http://bit.ly/laurawilkinson

CTG Staff
CTG Staff
The Cross Timbers Gazette News Department

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