James W. "JR" Wilkerson Jr.,
1945 - 2002
I requested a memorial mass for my dad at our church, Our Lady of the Visitation. It was offered on Friday, July 5, 2002. Prayers were offered for JR and at the end of mass I got up and read the obituary I wrote. A copy of what I read is below.
Obituary for James Willard Wilkerson Jr. “JR”
James Willard Wilkerson Jr., or “JR” was born on August 24, 1945 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to James W. Wilkerson Sr. and Myrtle Juanita Wilkerson. “JR” was their first-born child and had 5 sisters and 1 brother. His siblings are Vicki
Wilkerson, Connie Page, Susan Peterson, Jackie Garland, Julie Knight, and Jeffrey Wilkerson, all of who reside in
Oklahoma.
He graduated in 1963 from Rogers High School in Tulsa, OK.
He married Iris Sue Mallory in 1964.
They had two children, James Willard Wilkerson III and Kimberly Dee Ann Wilkerson.
After he and Iris were divorced, he had other wives. These are the ones I can remember: Delores, Nona, Sharon, and Cheryl.
JR joined the Air Force and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan where he was a mechanic on B-52 bombers during the Vietnam War.
JR held several different jobs after he left the Air Force, but he finally settled into the insurance business, like his father. JR and his wife Betty Jean started MRMOBILEHOME Insurance Agency and it grew to a very successful
business.
In March of 2002, JR found out that he had cancer of the kidney and that it had spread to his lungs and most likely other organs. On Wednesday, June 12, 2002, James W.Wilkerson Jr. died at the City Park Care Center Hospice in Denver, CO. He requested that he be cremated and his ashes be sprinkled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the state he loved very much.
Personal Comments:
I am James Wilkerson III, JR’s son. Much could be said about JR and his life which I won’t go into here. He thought it ironic that his lung cancer was unrelated to his heavy smoking habit that began as a young teenager. He was generous and patriotic. He flew a very big American flag on a very tall flagpole in his front yard, years before the attacks of September 11th. He supported the home schooling efforts of my family with moral and financial support.
He loved his grandchildren Jacob, Jamieanne, Jennamarie, and Joseph very much and I think that they were able to soften his heart where no one else could.
1945 - 2002
I requested a memorial mass for my dad at our church, Our Lady of the Visitation. It was offered on Friday, July 5, 2002. Prayers were offered for JR and at the end of mass I got up and read the obituary I wrote. A copy of what I read is below.
Obituary for James Willard Wilkerson Jr. “JR”
James Willard Wilkerson Jr., or “JR” was born on August 24, 1945 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to James W. Wilkerson Sr. and Myrtle Juanita Wilkerson. “JR” was their first-born child and had 5 sisters and 1 brother. His siblings are Vicki
Wilkerson, Connie Page, Susan Peterson, Jackie Garland, Julie Knight, and Jeffrey Wilkerson, all of who reside in
Oklahoma.
He graduated in 1963 from Rogers High School in Tulsa, OK.
He married Iris Sue Mallory in 1964.
They had two children, James Willard Wilkerson III and Kimberly Dee Ann Wilkerson.
After he and Iris were divorced, he had other wives. These are the ones I can remember: Delores, Nona, Sharon, and Cheryl.
JR joined the Air Force and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan where he was a mechanic on B-52 bombers during the Vietnam War.
JR held several different jobs after he left the Air Force, but he finally settled into the insurance business, like his father. JR and his wife Betty Jean started MRMOBILEHOME Insurance Agency and it grew to a very successful
business.
In March of 2002, JR found out that he had cancer of the kidney and that it had spread to his lungs and most likely other organs. On Wednesday, June 12, 2002, James W.Wilkerson Jr. died at the City Park Care Center Hospice in Denver, CO. He requested that he be cremated and his ashes be sprinkled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the state he loved very much.
Personal Comments:
I am James Wilkerson III, JR’s son. Much could be said about JR and his life which I won’t go into here. He thought it ironic that his lung cancer was unrelated to his heavy smoking habit that began as a young teenager. He was generous and patriotic. He flew a very big American flag on a very tall flagpole in his front yard, years before the attacks of September 11th. He supported the home schooling efforts of my family with moral and financial support.
He loved his grandchildren Jacob, Jamieanne, Jennamarie, and Joseph very much and I think that they were able to soften his heart where no one else could.
