Jean Lovat Anderson Wilkins

Athens - Jean Lovat Anderson Wilkins, of Athens, Georgia, died Thursday, March 22, 2007, surrounded by her immediate family. Born on September 5, 1935, in Marietta, Georgia, Mrs. Wilkins was the daughter of Jean Cole Anderson and George David Anderson, Jr. Her husband, John Julian Wilkins III, survives. Other survivors include her son, John Julian Wilkins IV, daughter-in-law, Pamela Hall Wilkins, and granddaughter, Alexis Gabrielle Hart Wilkins, of Atlanta; daughter, Ellen Fraser Wilkins Wiley, son-in-law, Floyd Murray "Buck" Wiley III, and grandson, William Young Wiley II, of Atlanta; brother, George David Anderson III, sister-in-law, Nancy Anderson, and niece, Jennifer Anderson Harrison, of Marietta; brother-in-law, Thomas Hart Wilkins and wife, Ann Wilkins, of Athens.
A 1953 graduate of Marietta High School, Mrs. Wilkins graduated summa cum laude and Salutatorian from the University of Georgia in 1957; where she was president of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, George David Anderson, a member of UGA's first Phi Beta Kappa class of 1914. On December 21, 1956, she married John J. Wilkins III. The couple celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary last December with family and friends.
Always supportive and loving, Mrs. Wilkins wore a perpetual smile. Her family remembers her as the devoted wife and mother who selflessly cared for them. She saw beauty in others and in the world around her, and worked tirelessly to share her knowledge and love of nature. She was a past president of the Junior Ladies Garden Club, a member of The Garden Club of America, and a member of the Altar Guild of Emmanuel Episcopal Church. She was a former member of the Board of Advisors for the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the Athens-Clarke County Urban Tree Advisory Commission. She was her garden club's caretaker of Athens' beloved "Tree That Owns Itself." A talented horticulturist and floral arranger, she spent the last morning of her life cutting flowers from her Athens garden for her family in Atlanta.
An advocate for the education of young people, she played a major role in the founding of Athens Academy, started in 1967 by her husband and the late John E. Griffin. She was an active member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church and also a member of The Athens Chapter of The Colonial Dames of America in the state of Georgia, the Athens Junior Assembly / League and the Rabun Gap Nacoochee Guild.
Lovat was a gourmet chef, and enjoyed astronomy and needlepoint. An avid reader, she was a founder and the permanent secretary for The Book Club of Athens. As a distant relative of Lord Lovat of the Fraser Clan, she delighted in her Scottish heritage.
On Saturday, March 24th at 2 p.m. services will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church located at 498 Prince Avenue in Athens. The Reverend Robert Salamone, Rector of Emmanuel, will conduct the service. Prior to the service, family and friends are invited to a reception at twelve noon in the Parish Hall. Interment will be in Oconee Hill Cemetery in the Wilkins family site. Honorary pallbearers are Sibley Bryan, Morris Bryan, George Hart, and James LaBoon, Jr.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lovat Wilkins Endowment Fund at Athens Academy, P.O. Box 6548, Athens, GA 30604, or to the Ann Orr Morris Horticulture Endowment Fund of the Junior Ladies Garden Club, P.O. Box 5742, Athens, GA 30604. Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. www.bernsteinfuneralhome.com