Obituary published on Legacy.com by Schepp Family Funeral Homes, Eaton-Tubbs Fayetteville Chapel on May 2, 2023.
Born at Fort Rucker in Alabama, on December 27, 1950, to a military family and raised outside the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, Bruce Webster Wilkinson (72) well understood the Army lifestyle. So when drafted at the age of 18 during the Vietnam War, he elected to join the United States Air Force and served as a Crew Chief on the C-141s. During basic training, he observed the lifestyle of the other airmen and asked himself, "What kind of man do I want to be?" That question inspired the rest of his life and the first prayer he ever uttered, that God would send him to the airbase in
Dover, Delaware, where he could be close to home.
God answered that prayer in a remarkable way. As the other airmen received orders to report to California for overseas service, Bruce was sent to a base in Warner Robbins, Georgia. During off-duty hours he took long walks and discovered an abandoned house that had been ransacked. In the attic of the house he found a solitary box containing books, including a Bible. With light from a dim attic window, he began to read the Bible. He returned to the attic day after day, and there in the dusty darkness he prayed his second prayer dedicating his heart in service to God. One week later, the entire squadron disbanded and was sent to
Dover, Delaware -- a direct answer to his first prayer.
As a crew chief, Bruce held Bible studies with airmen in the plane cockpit; many were converted to Christianity creating concern among the leadership. Nevertheless, Bruce was honorably discharged and continued in service to God as a Literature Evangelist, Associate Publishing Director in Iowa-Missouri Conference, and ordained minister in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was an active Chaplain Colonel in the Vermont State Guard, a member of the Burlington Elk Club, a highly skilled pool player, and a published author.
His love for God and passion to share the gospel had a far-reaching impact. He served in Native Ministries in upstate New York and had a pastorate in Burlington, Bristol and
St. Albans, Vermont. Though retired in 2020, he continued work in Native Ministries until his death. Bruce knew no stranger and reached out to people in all walks of life. He shared the news of God's love to everyone he met, regardless of situation, position, nationality or creed. He introduced strangers everywhere to the love of God, whether standing in line at the D.M.V, in an elevator, in a hot tub, in an airplane, or sitting outside the dentist's office. His service for God was without bounds.
Bruce was a faithful and devoted husband and father, deeply loving, and loved by, his large family. He is survived by his wife of nearly 41 years, Linda (nee Michel); his five children and their spouses: Benjamin (Jun), Rebekah, Andrew, Megan (Shawn), Peter; his five grandchildren: Sadie, Ethan, Kyle, Matthew and Michael; his sister Linda Norsworthy and his aunt, Joanne Bradley. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Lewis and Edna Wilkinson as well as his grandchildren, James and Eleisha Pates.
Services will be held at the
Williston, Vermont, Seventh-day Adventist Church at 5pm on April 29. The family request that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Native Ministries New York through the Oneida or Onondaga Seventh-day Adventist Church.
We love and miss you, darling husband and father, and look earnestly to the day we will see you again.