Gordon Wilkins Jr.

1943 - 2023

Gordon Wilkins, Jr.
September 13, 1943 - July 14, 2023
Charlotte, North Carolina - Gordon M. Wilkins, Jr. (September 13, 1943 to July 14, 2023) made a peaceful
transition to his eternal rest surrounded by family after experiencing complications from emergency surgery.
Gordon M. Wilkins, Jr. was the eldest son born to the late Dr. Gordon M. Wilkins and Dorothy Dixon Wilkins of Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the nephew of the late Jefferson and Purry Grigsby of Charlotte. He attended West Charlotte High School where he graduated with honors in 1961. Despite the Jim Crow segregation, Gordon developed a vision of a more equitable and integrated society. While in high school, he was co-founder of the Charlotte Youth Congress which was the first interracial youth group in Charlotte. He broke with family tradition by not attending one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities or pursuing a career in medicine Instead, he pioneered his way by earning an academic scholarship to Whittier College in Whittier California. Gordon graduated in 1965 with a BS in Biochemistry and BA in Political Science.
Gordon was the recipient of an academic fellowship to Columbia University in New York City. He graduated from Columbia with a MBA in 1973. He continued his advanced business education by earning an Executive MBA from Michigan State University. Gordon had a successful career as an Executive at Avon Products, Inc where he was a Senior Purchasing Agent and traveled internationally for the company. Gordon and his life partner Ambassador Francis V. Vendrell lived between their homes in New York, London and Barcelona. Throughout their fifty- three-year relationship, they enjoyed traveling to explore culture and history throughout the world.
Gordon is survived by his siblings, Elizabeth W. Morris, Malcolm D. Wilkins and
Michael G. Wilkins of Charlotte, and several nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of national and international friends. He will be laid to rest at the York Memorial Park in Charlotte, North Carolina where there will be a gravesite service on Thursday July 20, 2023 at 12:00 noon. As per Gordon Wilkins' wishes in lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the American Cancer Society in the memory of his mother Macie Dorothy Dixon Wilkins, his aunt Catherine Reeves and all of the women in his family who died of cancer.