Don Lee Wilkinson was born May 11, 1936 in Compton, California to LaRue Dee Wilkinson and Viola Gill Wilkinson and passed away peacefully the evening of March 15, 2025 surrounded by family after the Lord wrapped His arms around him and took him home.

Don had two older siblings, Margaret Finnan and Jack Wilkinson, both deceased.

During his young years the family moved to Bakersfield, California and then to Redmond, Oregon where Don developed a love of the outdoors and later would tell many stories about his adventures and experiences during those years. After his graduation from Excelsior high school back in California, he was drafted into the Army and spent two years serving in Munich, Germany as an x-ray technician. After his discharge, Don met Mardi at a First Brethren Church young adult beach party in Long Beach, California. The two were married two years later which lasted 61 years. They were blessed to become the parents of their daughter, Jill, and four years later, their son, Eric.

Don worked for Cal Trans while attending college at night and eventually worked for the County of Orange as an administrator in the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) developing and enlarging a network of walking/bike paths across the County.

ln his free time Don enjoyed free diving with a spear gun to catch fish and everything beach related. His favorite hobby was bird shooting with friends in Arizona and Mexico and eventually taking Eric with him as well.

Once Jesus came into his life, Don was changed forever and spread God’s love to both family and friends. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him and forever remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather.