Mary Livingston Wilkinson

A service for Mary Livingston Doggett Wilkinson, 86, is being held at The Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, NC on April 9.

Mrs. Wilkinson was born on September 19, 1938 in Greensboro, daughter of the late James Anderson Doggett and the late Mary Norton Doggett.  She graduated from Duke University in 1960; worked as a realtor from 1961 to 1964; was married to her husband, the late Dr. Henry Alfred Wilkinson III in 1964; and worked as a Head Start teacher in 1965 and 1966.  Starting from 1967 after the birth of her only child, Ellen Livingston Wilkinson Proctor, Mrs. Wilkinson’s main devotion throughout her life was to serve and support her family as a loving homemaker.    In particular, she was very committed to caring for her and Dr. Wilkinson’s parents as they aged, and keeping up with her cousins, nieces, nephews and granddaughter.  Later in her husband’s life, as he suffered with dementia, she was his constant, patient and compassionate caregiver.

As a result of her husband’s medical career, over her adult life she lived in Baltimore, New York City, Nashville, Charlotte and Oklahoma City.  Mrs. Wilkinson and her husband also for many years maintained a vacation home in Ashe County, NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway that had been built by her parents where they loved to spend time enjoying nature and scenic views.

Mrs. Wilkinson and her husband chose to relocate to Chapel Hill, NC in their retirement so that they could enjoy the proximity to Duke and UNC and their extended family in the area.   Also during retirement, one of Mrs. Wilkinson’s special passions together with her husband was international travel.  They visited more than 65 countries on 6 continents, including far-flung locations such as the Atacama Desert in Chile and Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil; the Faroe and Shetland Islands in Europe; Bhutan, Laos and Sri Lanka in Asia; Egypt and Israel in the Middle East; and Botswana and Namibia in Africa.   Other hobbies and interests of Mrs. Wilkinson included history, family genealogy, antiques and ceramics, knitting and needlework.

A woman of faith, she worshiped in recent years at The Chapel of The Cross in Chapel Hill, NC.  In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, who passed away in 2023, and her niece Julia Doggett, who passed away in 2012.

Survivors include her daughter, Ellen Proctor; son-in-law, Frank Proctor; granddaughter, May Proctor; brother, Taylor Doggett; sister-in-law, Audrey Doggett; nephew, James Doggett; nephew, Scott Wilkinson and Scott’s three children Kate, Keira Louise and Evan Wilkinson; and niece, Laura Wiley, and Laura’s daughter, Logan Harris.

Donations can be made to The Chapel of The Cross, 304 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, online at https://www.thechapelofthecross.org/make-a-gift/

Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Wilkerson family.