Frank E. Gilkison

Frank E. Gilkison

A Muncie attorney who practiced more than half a century with a firm that today bears his name, has died of complications following a stroke last fall. Mr. Gilkison was an accomplished litigator who mixed preparation, professionalism, and tenacity inside the courtroom with congeniality and grace outside. He was born in Washington to Frank Earl and Eva Edwards Gilkison. The senior Gilkison, also an attorney, had been an Indiana Supreme Court justice from 1945 to 1955. Graduating from Washington High School in 1944, Mr. Gilkison was named to the All-State basketball team. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as an Air Cadet in 1944-45, later attending I.U. Law School.

In October of 1950, Mr. Gilkison came to Muncie to practice law with a predecessor firm to Beasley and Gilkison, where he remained a member until retirement in 2012. Mr. Gilkison served on the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Character & Fitness for 35 years, and was the CEO of Home Beverages, Inc., a small beverage distributor in Washington, for 45 years.

He is survived by his wife, Donna Ruth Jones Gilkison, four daughters, and two step-sons. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Barbara Ann Black in 1990, and their son Frank Earl Gilkison II in 1966.

In lieu of flowers, friends are invited to contribute to either the Frank E. Gilkison Athletic Fund or the Donna Gilkison Music Education Scholarship Fund at Ball State University Foundation, 2800 W. Bethel, Muncie, 47304 or online at cms.bsu.edu/giving/bsufoundation.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2801 W. Riverside Ave., Muncie, with Rev. Dr. Ronald Naylor and Rev. Kris Holroyd officiating.  Burial will follow in Elm Ridge Cemetery.

Friends may call at The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chapel, 415 E. Washington Street, Muncie, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 2015, or one hour prior to services on Tuesday at the church. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.meeksmortuary.com.