George Robert "Bobby" Wilkes, RIP

Last weekend I went to Leesburg, Florida to pay my respects to my uncle, Bobby Wilkes. Others may have called him George or Bob, but I grew up calling him Bobby and my aunt Maureen. Maureen passed away in 2009 after a bout with Alzheimer's Disease. Bobby never got over her passing. I consider that to be a tribute to his great love for her.

Bobby actually died on Thursday April 5, 2012, but his son Brian delayed his funeral until Saturday, April 14. Brian's older brother Robin is in the hospital and Brian was hoping Robin would be able to attend the funeral, but he was not out of the hospital.

Bobby and Maureen had lived in Gainesville, Georgia in the 60's, and I always thought they were the wealthy side of our family. Bobby was well known in the radio business in Gainesville, a radio personality, and in my small world that made him famous! Maureen was the one who bleached my brother's brown hair white, but that is another story for another time!

Bobby and Maureen moved to Leesburg where Bobby took a job as the general manager of Leesburg Cable TV. This was in the early days of cable and of the migration of retirees to Florida. Bobby was an astute businessman, and I am told he marketed the cable system to the booming retiree communities, where he would quote a price if a certain percentage of residents would sign up. He did well in the cable business and he and Maureen settled themselves in Leesburg, and particularly in First Baptist Church.

One of my memories about Bobby was when I was in seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. All seminary students struggle financially and we were no exception. I remember on 3 or 4 occasions I would get an envelope from Bobby with a check enclosed. His words were to use it as we needed. He always enclosed the line, "Don't tell anyone about this!" I don't know if he was afraid Maureen would find out, but I doubt she would have objected.

I also remember my family (that is me, Lynette, Allyson and Andrea) going to Florida to visit Disneyworld. We probably could not have afforded to stay in a motel, so Bobby and Maureen let us stay at their house and treated us royally! I also remember Bobby asking if I wanted to go deep sea fishing. I had never been! He booked a boat and we left early one morning for the day. He tried to prepare me for the trip by feeding me soda crackers, but as soon as we got on board and started out into the gulf, Up it came! I had a great time anyway, and enjoyed the time with him.

I also remember when I was the Administrator of the Palmetto Campus of Georgia Baptist Children's Home. My grandfather Ed Allison, Papah, had passed away and Bobby wanted to do something in his memory. Bobby and a group of his friends came to Palmetto and built a playground in Papah's memory. Bobby paid for the materials out of his own pocket. I will never forget that kindness.

Later in his life Bobby and Maureen set up the Wilkes Foundation to support mission projects, primarily churches, children's homes and schools around the world. They built facilities in at least 8 countries and 40-50 buildings all together. Their legacy will live on. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been touched, and thousands saved.

My last memory occurred in 2003. At that time I was the President/CEO of the Vashti Children's Center in Thomasville, GA. Vashti was a Methodist program that was having some tough times. The building and grounds needed a lot of work. Finances were so bad that a previous President had had to use some funds (about $225,000) given by a foundation for renovations. Unfortunately, he had used the funds to pay outstanding bills. The foundation was unhappy with Vashti, many business people in Thomasville were unhappy with Vashti for not paying bills quickly. Jack Wilkes, Bobby's brother heard of our plight and Bobby and the Wilkes Foundation jumped in to help. Bobby brought over 120 people some for up to 4 weeks to help with the renovations. Many came for 1 or 2 weeks. The Wilkes Foundation paid for most of the materials to do the repairs. Due to the influx of volunteers, the people of Thomasville responded as well. About 3 weeks into the project, the donor foundation mentioned above sent a delegation to see what was being done. When they saw the results and all the volunteers as busy as bees all over the building, the donor foundation forgave the debt of the misused funds. In addition they made another donation of about $25,000 to help out. I estimate that the Wilkes Foundation did about $500,000 of actual work to the facilities.

To this day, Vashti is a vital ministry serving children and their families.

Bobby did ministry like he did business...flat out! At the funeral several spoke of his leadership in the bus ministry of their church. They started with one bus that would pick children up for Saturday, Sunday School. The Yellow Bus was the one Bobby and Maureen led. They would visit the children during the week, pass out candy and make friends with the children and their families. Then on Saturday they would pick up the children for Sunday school and later deliver them home. One bus soon became too small so another was needed. I think Bobby bought it himself for the ministry. Often the bus would have 120 children instead of the 60 it was designed for. Again, many lives were touched by Bobby and Maureen.

Bobby never got over Maureen's death. Brian told me he would never let him close her checking account. He often told people she would be returning home. I was told he spent much time sitting at the cemetery talking to her grave. I am certain they are now both in heaven, enjoying the love that they enjoyed for almost 60 years. Bobby Wilkes, Rest in Peace.