Dr. George R. Wilkinson Jr.

GREENVILLE - Dr. George R. Wilkinson, Jr. was a lifelong resident of Greenville, SC, and Cedar Mountain, NC. He was born February 11, 1924, the son of parents, Mary Lydia McAllister Wilkinson formerly of Covington, VA, and Dr. George R. Wilkinson, Sr. of Greenville, SC.

Dr. Wilkinson dearly loved the people of the mountains of South Carolina, was a devoted physician to his patients, an avid reader, loyal alumni to The McCallie School, Presbyterian College, and Johns Hopkins University, and was fiercely dedicated to his wife, children, grandchildren and his animals.

Dr. Wilkinson was genuinely interested in every person of every age that he met. He was truly loved by his friends, his children’s friends, his wife’s friends, his fraternity, and those whom he employed. He had a special charm that made those big and little feel uniquely important. He never met a stranger.

Dr. Wilkinson was the last surviving physician in the Wilkinson medical family, which began with his grandfather, Dr. James R. Wilkinson (1863 - 1935), who came to Greenville in 1888. He married the late Annie Barr Wilkinson and continued practicing medicine in Soochow, China, as a medical missionary at the Elizabeth Blake Hospital. He later built his own hospital in 1919 where he worked until his death in 1935. He was buried in Soochow, China.

Dr. Wilkinson’s own father, Dr. George R. Wilkinson, Sr., the first internist in South Carolina and president of the South Carolina Medical Board, practiced medicine from 1920 to 1964; his great-uncle, Dr. Henry Brookwood Wilkinson (1870 - 1948) served in the Army Medical Corps from 1898 to 1930 and spent his final years in Montgomery, AL; and an uncle, Dr. Louis Barr Wilkinson, (1900 - 1975) practiced surgery in Shanghai, China, Rutherfordton, NC, and for 25 years in High Point, NC.

Dr. George R. Wilkinson, Jr. attended 1930-1936 Haynes School, North Main Street Park School, John’s Street School, was a 1941 graduate of The McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN, 1941-1943 Davidson College, in 1945 graduated Presbyterian College, where he was student body president, president of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, and president of the Inter-fraternity Council. He did graduate study at University of Georgia and in 1949 graduated John Hopkins University School of Medicine at the top of his class. 1949-1951 internship and residency The Foss Clinic at Gersinger Hospital Danville, PA; 1951-1954 3-year fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, with a B.S. degree in medicine from the University of Minnesota; 1955-1956 Chief of Department of Medicine for United States Army, Camp Leroy Johnson, New Orleans, LA. In 1956 Dr. Wilkinson joined his father, Dr. George R. Wilkinson, Sr., in private practice at the Wilkinson Clinic, Greenville, SC. In 1990 Dr. Wilkinson was appointed head Internist at the Veterans Administration Clinic, Augusta Road, Greenville, SC, until his retirement in 1998.

Dr. George Wilkinson was a member of Fourth Presbyterian Church and Faith Memorial Chapel, The Cotillion Club, The Poinsett Club, Greenville Country Club, South Carolina Historic Society, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Greenville County Medical Society, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, and Retired Physicians Tuesday Morning Breakfast Group. He served as chairman for several years of Table Rock Laboratories, Chairman of Board of Covington Grocery, Covington, VA. He was a member of the Internal Medical Staff of the Greenville Memorial Hospital, South Carolina Medical Association, American Medical Association, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. In 1995 Dr. Wilkinson fulfilled a lifelong dream and found the hospital his grandfather built in Soochow, China, now called Suzhou, and was appointed a director of that hospital.

He and his wife, Millie, owned and operated Tall Pines Farm, Cleveland, SC, and bred Angus Beef Cattle and American Saddlebred Horses, one of which won the World Championships in 1979, named Winged Solo.

Survived by his wife, Mildred Roper Wilkinson of 63 years. His 5 children: daughter, Richie Roper Wilkinson Bologni and her husband, John Louis Bologni of Walnut Creek, CA; sons, George Richard Wilkinson, III of Marietta, SC, and William McAllister Wilkinson of Greenville, SC; daughters, MaryEllen Wilkinson of Travelers Rest, SC, and Milicent Anne Wilkinson of Brevard, NC.

His 10 grandchildren, John Fabio Richard Bologni of Walnut Creek, CA, George Richard Wilkinson, IV of Covington, VA, Thomas Albert Goode of Tuscaloosa, AL, Mary Lydia Wilkinson Fisher of Tryon, NC, William McAllister Wilkinson, III of Greenville, SC, Anne Busche Wilkinson of Beaufort, SC, Hayley Wilkinson Whatley of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Max Edwin Whatley of Myrtle Beach, SC, Holly Roper Whatley of Greenville, SC, and Virginia Anne Hunt of Brevard, NC. 1 great-grandchild, Mary McAllister Fisher.

Honorary pallbearers: Greenville County Medical Society Physicians and the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Beta Chapter of Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC.

A memorial service will be Friday, March 21, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 703 East Washington Street, Greenville, SC 29601.

Family will be receiving friends immediately following the memorial service in the church fellowship hall. Private committal service to precede memorial service.

Family wishes to omit flowers. Memorials may be made to: Thornwell Home, c/o Bill Tiller, PO Box 60, Clinton, SC 29325 or ph 864-938-2715 www.thornwell.org, and Presbyterian College, c/o Advancement Office, 503 South Broad Street, Clinton, SC 29325 ph 800-476-7272 www.preby.edu/giving.

Please share your stories about Dr. George with family by email to maryellen@eratopgunsrealty.com.

To sign the guest book online, please go to www.mackeymortuary.com.

The Mackey Mortuary

Greenville, SC.