Robert Wilkins M.D.

1922 - 2018

Well known Anchorage physician and performing arts pioneer Robert Bocock Wilkins, 96, passed away on Nov. 10, 2018, at the Alaska Pioneer Home in Anchorage, Alaska. Robert was born in Lynchburg, Va., on Oct. 6, 1922.
In 1946, he received his MD from the University of Virginia and interned at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Wash. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve active duty from 1947 to 1949. He came to Alaska on July 1, 1952. He was the 18th physician in Anchorage when the population was only 20,000 people. In 1953, he founded the Anchorage Medical Society. as well as the Alaska Heart Association in 1955. Along with Dr. Howard Romig, he also co-founded the Anchorage Medical and Surgical Clinic.
Robert met his wife to be, Marilyn Elizabeth North, in 1952 on a blind date in Anchorage. They were married on March 6, 1955. Marilyn passed away on Dec. 11, 2014. Their two children Roberta Marie Wilkins Fraser and Lee Murray Wilkins both reside in Anchorage.
One of Alaska's greatest pioneers for the performing arts for over 60 years, beginning in 1952, Dr. Wilkins joined the Anchorage Concert Association and donated his time and energies to bringing the world's greatest music to Alaska. Highlights include bringing Isaac Stern, Van Cliburn, Marilyn Horne, Itzaak Perlman, and Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic to Alaska at the height of their careers. He served on the board of the Anchorage Festival of Music and was one of the founders of the Anchorage Civic Opera. He worked tirelessly to raise much of the private funding for the Anchorage Performing Arts Center.
Robert is survived by his two children, Roberta Marie Wilkins Fraser and Lee Murray Wilkins both of Anchorage, Alaska; three grandchildren, Mairi Fraser and Brendan Wilkins, both of Anchorage and Duncan Fraser of Chicago, Ill.
Robert will join his wife Marilyn at the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. They will rest together next to the historic 1915 John Parks burial site.
There will be a memorial celebration of Robert's life on Dec. 17, 2018, at 4 p.m. at the Alaska Performing Arts Center. People will gather in the Lorene Harrison Lobby on street level at 4 p.m. and proceed down the Robert B. Wilkins Celebrity Gallery to enjoy the decades of musings written by the finest musicians in the world who have graced the stages at the PAC. The procession will culminate on the Atwood Hall stage where there will be live music, refreshments and an opportunity for everyone to speak, share stories and reminisce. Please join us.For information please contact Lee Wilkins at leemwilkins@yahoo.com or 907-602-9647.