OXFORD--Judge Charles Watkins Wilkinson, Jr., passed away in his sleep on May 6, 2018, at his home on 207 Edgewood Drive in Oxford, North Carolina. A lifelong resident of Oxford, he graduated from Oxford High School in 1959 and entered Campbell University where he graduated in 1961 with an Associate in Arts degree. After graduating from East Carolina University with his Bachelor of Arts degree, he entered the University of North Carolina School of Law. He graduated in 1967 with his Juris Doctorate and was accepted to the North Carolina Bar that same year.
He worked for the Attorney General's office for a year and a half and then joined Watkins and Edmundson Law Firm in Oxford in 1969. After working there for several years, he became a Partner and then ran and was elected District Court Judge in 1976. Judge Wilkinson served 32 years on the bench and was the longest sitting District Judge in North Carolina.
Predeceased by his parents, Charles Watkins Wilkinson and Judith Pruitt Wilkinson, the Judge has two sisters, Ann Wilkinson Hann (Carl) of Oxford, NC, and Beverly Wilkinson (deceased).
Charles is also survived by his wife of fifty-four years, Emily Dolores Harris Wilkinson, and their two sons, Charles Watkins Wilkinson, III, of Roanoke Rapids, NC, and Aaron Chance Wilkinson (Nancy), of Oxford, NC. Left to cherish his memory especially are his grandchildren, Alexander, Matthew and Emily Wilkinson; two nephews, Carl E. Hann, Jr., Jon H. Edwards, and a niece, Leslie E. (Beth) Raynor.
His job as a Judge was a joy to him, and he was universally admired as a common sense and compassionate Judge. He read voraciously about history and politics and kept up with all that was happening locally and globally. His chief delights were his grandchildren, his lake place and his poodles.
Visitation will be held at Gentry-Newell & Vaughan Funeral Home in Oxford, NC, on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
Funeral services will be held at Oxford Baptist Church on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. by the Reverend Christopher Aho. Burial will follow the service at Elmwood Cemetery in Oxford.
Flowers are acceptable, or memorials may be made to the County of Granville, North Carolina, fund for the new detention center, 141 Williamsboro Street, Oxford, NC, 27565.
The family is being served by Gentry-Newell & Vaughan Funeral Home, 503 College St., Oxford, NC, 27565.
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