Cdr Wilfrid Paul Wilkinson III

CDR Wilfrid P. Wilkinson III USN (Ret), "Bill" a cherished and dedicated husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, and friend, passed away peacefully at Martha Jefferson Hospital surrounded by his children December 31, 2024, in Charlottesville, VA, after a 6-month battle with infection. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Kathleen Dolores ("Skippy") Wilkinson in July 2018. Born July 8, 1933, to Wilfrid P Wilkinson, Jr and Margaret Wilkinson in Philadelphia, PA, the youngest of their three children and their only son, Bill spent his childhood during the Great Depression in Upper Darby, PA outside Philadelphia in a rowhouse where he enjoyed playing pickup sports like stickball that did not require real equipment. He attended a Christian Brothers school for junior high and West Catholic High School For Boys in Philadelphia. He did not have much time for sports but spent his afterschool and weekend hours working as a "soda jerk" in a malt shop, at a haberdashery, and at the florist shop where his father worked, often driving the florist truck. His older sisters Regina (Gina) and Dolores (Lo) pushed him to be sure he had a social life. After graduating West Catholic in 1951, Bill attended Villanova University. As the first in his family to go to college, he cut costs by living at home and commuting to classes. During his off hours, he worked at the florist shop as a delivery man and in the summers, worked in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard as a pipefitter's helper. He was later promoted after they found he could read blueprints, a byproduct of a technical course he took at Villanova. In 1955 after graduating from Villanova with a degree in Marketing and minor in Economics, Bill signed on with the Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD) program - a variation of today's Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) - at Willow Grove, PA and later reported to NAS Pensacola Florida for officer candidate and flight training. He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1956 and was assigned to fly the HUP-2 helicopter, a woefully underpowered dual-rotor forerunner to the venerable CH-46 Sea Knight. He was assigned to Lakehurst, NJ and flew one deployment aboard the USS Franklin Roosevelt. Bill was later detailed and assigned as a ground/maintenance officer to VQ-2, an aircraft squadron in Rota, Spain. There he met Kathleen "Skippy" White, a nurse at the Rota Naval Hospital from a Philadelphia family in February of 1959 at a party in Rota. They married in September 1959 and had their first child, Paul, a year later in 1960. Bill was then ordered to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville as a Staff NROTC instructor, an assistant Professor of Naval Science. Their second child, Kathy, was born at the University hospital in 1962. Following the assignment at UVA, Bill went on to Naval Intelligence school in Washington, DC and changed designators to Naval Intelligence. He then served in a variety of naval intelligence assignments at Fleet Atlantic Intelligence Center in Norfolk, VA, where his son, Tim, and daughter, Kelly, were born. He then served on the USS Wasp (CVS-18) out of Boston Navy Yard as Public Affairs Officer and Intelligence officer where he participated in two NASA Gemini program spacecraft retrievals. The family later moved to the Washington, DC area where he served at the Pentagon on the joint Mideast Desk for the Defense Intelligence Agency. Their fifth child, Matt was born during this assignment. Expecting orders to Vietnam in early 1971, instead, in a strange sequence of events set in motion by the infamous 1969 Pueblo Affair, Bill ended up being assigned to Commander Naval Forces Japan in the N-2 Naval Intelligence office and the family moved to Yokosuka, Japan. He served in that assignment for two years before being assigned as Commanding Officer, Naval Investigative Service Office, Japan in which he had responsibility for criminal investigation and counterintelligence for all US Naval and Marine Forces in Japan including afloat units. After that demanding but enjoyable four years, he concluded his 22-year naval career at the Pentagon, once again at the Defense Intelligence Agency specializing in marine and geospatial imagery as he, Skip, and the family settled in Arlington, VA for the next 20 years. Retirement from the U.S. Navy launched a second career in the civilian intelligence contracting field. As a Program Manager and a junior VP, Bill led numerous high visibility projects for various DoD contract companies before retiring from TASC Corporation in late 1995. In his "spare time" from 1978-83, Bill supported Skippy in their family-run store, Instant Replay, a retail sporting goods store, in Arlington's Crystal City Underground where all of the kids and many friends were employed. After retiring, Bill and Skippy moved to a home they built in Orange Park, FL outside Jacksonville and spent 20 years near old Navy friends and their son Tim and his family. They were avid golfers and active in civic and political activities and most especially in their Parish. In 2015, they moved back to Charlottesville, Virginia, near both Kelly's and Matt's families and not far from Kathy's and Paul's families. Bill's life was a testament to his love of family and his Roman Catholic faith. His marriage of 59 years to Skippy was a model of Christian marriage. Through his leadership and example, he inspired his children in their faith, their families and their career choices to serve others in the fields of aviation, intelligence, business, as well as their parish communities. He was very proud that two sons, two daughters, one son-in-law, five grandchildren, and one spouse of a grandchild have followed his example and served in the military. He coached Little League teams and was an avid fan of his children's sports, whether baseball, softball, crew, cross country, or track & field and he served as chairman of the Boy Scout troop adult committee in Japan. He loved family vacations and spent time not only in stateside vacation spots, but took the family on foreign vacations to Korea and Taiwan while living in Japan. The family enjoyed a stay in Hawaii at the end of his Navy tour in Japan. Back in the states, he even gamely piloted a large RV for one (and only one!) trip with Skip, the five kids and a dog. He and Skip maintained great friendships with their Spanish and Japanese friends and hosted and visited with them throughout the years during and after his Navy career. After the kids were grown and finished college, he and Skip traveled extensively and visited friends overseas and made many new ones. They made several trips to Germany while Kathy, Jim and their children lived there and made other trips with Kelly as well to Italy and France. Bill is survived by his sons and daughters and their spouses, CDR W. Paul Wilkinson IV USN (ret) (Mary), CDR Kathleen Pala USN (ret) (CDR A. James USN (ret)), CDR Timothy Wilkinson USN (ret) (Diana), LCDR Kelly Coffin USN (Tad), and Matthew Wilkinson (Sarah). His grandchildren are LCDR Wilfrid P. Wilkinson V, USN (Elizabeth), Joseph M. Wilkinson, LT Anthony James Pala, III, USN, ENS Kathleen M. Pala, USN, Sean Pala, SSGT T. Charles Wilkinson, Jr., NC Air National Guard (Lauren, fiance) John Wilkinson, Peter Coffin (Savannah), Greg Coffin (Lauren), Corinna Perkins (PO2 Taylor Perkins, USN), LTJG Christopher Coffin, USN (Micaela), Hayward Wilkinson, and Finbar Wilkinson. His great-grandchildren are Eliza (Greg and Lauren Coffin), Melody and Camilla (Wil and Elizabeth Wilkinson), and Adeline (Jack and Micaela Coffin). A family visitation will be held from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Friday, January 10, 2025 at Hill and Wood Funeral Home, Charlottesville, VA. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on Alderman Road in Charlottesville with reception to follow in St. Thomas Hall. The burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a future date.