John William Wilkins

A memorial service celebrating the life of John W. Wilkins, 81, of Lufkin, will be held Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at 10:30 a.m. in the Henderson Chapel of the First United Methodist Church in Lufkin with Reverend Bill Jones and Reverend Nick Scholar officiating.
John William Wilkins was born on July 5, 1928 in Kilgore, Texas and entered eternal life on May 6, 2010 in Port Arthur. The son of Charlie and Ila Wilkins, he grew up in Liberty City and attended McCary's Chapel Methodist Church. He was proud to state that the Wilkins family had been in the Kilgore area for 148 years. John graduated from Sabine High School, Lon Morris College, Stephen F. Austin University and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.
Ordained in the ministry of the Methodist Church, he served pastorates in Missouri before returning to Texas where he served as Minister of Christian Education at the First United Methodist Church in Grand Saline, Williams Memorial United Methodist Church in Texarkana, and First United Methodist Church in Lufkin. His ministry was characterized by a strong emphasis on Christ-centered evangelism, missions, Bible study and Christian nurture.
After retiring from full-time ministry, John pursued his other passion, which was genealogy. In 1986, he returned to Lufkin to become head of the Ora McMullen room at the Kurth Memorial Library. He remained active at the First United Methodist Church where he taught the Musselwhite Sunday School Class. In 2005, he moved to Port Arthur to be close to his godson, Tomas Rodriguez and his family.
John is survived by his brother, James Wilkins of Tyler; nieces and nephews, Melissa Brigman of Tyler, Dorian Foster of San Antonio, Jonathan Wilkins of Plano and Chris Wilkins of Plano; godson and children, Tomas and Misty Rodriguez, Rachel, Nancy, Victoria and Stacy. A special thanks to John's caregiver for the last five years, Lizete Ellis and her family in Port Arthur.
Memorials may be given to the Ora McMullen Room at the Kurth Memorial Library, 706 S. Raguet, Lufkin, Texas 75904, or to the First United Methodist Church, 805 E. Denman Ave., Lufkin, Texas 75901.
Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.
Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors