Fred Wilkinson

TYLER — Fred Lyndel Wilkinson died Friday, January 17, in a Tyler hospital surrounded by family after a series of illnesses. He was 94.

Fred was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, nephew, and son to an extended family centered on Northeast Texas – from his birthplace in Bogata to his long-time home in Tyler. Friends and family describe him as a man of deep personal character and a sweet disposition with a sly, self-deprecating humor always lurking in the background.

While trained a laboratory technician with most of his professional career at Medical & Surgical Clinic in Tyler, Fred’s passions in life were his family and his church.

Funeral services are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 22, at Broadway Church of Christ in Tyler. Visitation is at 12:30 p.m. Flowers may be sent to Broadway Church of Christ, 100 Cumberland Road, Tyler, Texas 75703. The funeral is being managed by Lloyd James Funeral Home.

He is survived by his wife, Mitzi; a son, Earl; a daughter, Rachel Dingler; a son-in-law, Bobby Dingler; two grandchildren, Chelsea and Chloe; and a great-grandson, Ryker.

Fred was a child of the Great Depression, born in the Northeast Texas town of Bogata (population: 1,153), on November 30, 1930. For most of his formative years, farming was central to his life. He spent long days picking cotton in the fields around Bogata to help his family. He was intensely close to his father, Bill, and mother, Fauna, part of a bigger Bogata-focused family of uncles and aunts who told tales and songs that Fred could recite until his final days.

Upon graduation from Bogata High School, Fred attended college in the Texas towns of Paris and Clarksville before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1952. During his two years of army service, he “saw the world” for the first time through the lens of California army bases and hitchhiked landscapes in adjoining states.

In 1960, Fred met Medical Center nurse Mitzi Sanders in Tyler in the course of their respective jobs – and it was love at first sight. After a four-month courtship, Fred and Mitzi were married at Tyler’s Glenwood Methodist Church.

Their early married years featured fun evenings with friends in their Midtown Tyler garage apartment and traveling by car in the United States, with an early visit to Washington, D.C., and New York as highlights. These formative years in Tyler never escaped Fred, who knew the history of today’s streets and buildings dating to the 1950s.

Fred and Mitzi bought their first and only house on Tyler’s Golden Road in 1963, a proud life achievement.

They welcomed their first child, Earl, in late 1965, followed by Rachel in mid-1967. Becoming parents was a life highlight, yet even they were not entirely prepared for how parenthood took over their lives.

Fred balanced work and home with long hours at Medical & Surgical Clinic and other side jobs punctuated by daily family lunches and evenings at home featuring dominos, cards, board games, and keeping up with his beloved yards and gardens. He had a particular interest in crossword puzzles. Over the years, Fred volunteered as a Cub Scout master, little league baseball coach, and otherwise super-fan of Earl and Rachel’s school activities. He never missed an event, concert, football game, or baseball game while his kids were on school. Sundays were always about church and the Dallas Cowboys.

In 1975, the family became active at Broadway Church of Christ, and Fred participated in the congregation’s construction of its building on South Broadway Avenue that still exists today. He later served as a church deacon before serving as church elder from 1986 to 2003.

Upon retiring from Medical & Surgical Clinic in 1993, Fred embraced one of life’s passions: gardening. He took care of his yard, his daughter’s yard, the church lawn, and gardens in his backyard and a friend’s property.

During retirement, Fred and Mitzi traveled the world with memorable trips to England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, and Costa Rica, while enjoying cruises in the Caribbean and Hawaii. They continued their early-in-marriage tradition of driving in the United States with trips to New England, the American South, and the Wyoming-Montana-Idaho region. New York and Washington trips continued to be mainstays.

Notable among Fred’s travels was a visit to Monument Valley, an iconic and breathtaking region on the Arizona-Utah border – yet, most importantly to Fred, the home to so many of his beloved Western movies.

As travel wound down for Fred and Mitzi, the joy of grandchildren wound up with the births of Chelsea and Chloe to son-in-law Bobby Dingler and daughter Rachel Dingler in 1999 and 2000 – and with it a memorable era of babysitting and reliving parenthood. In 2024, Fred was introduced to his great-grandson, Ryker.

The final decade of Fred’s 94-year life saw a slow letting go of activities as Fred and Mitzi worked together, eventually celebrating 63 years of marriage together.