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Carroll Wilkie, devoted Hoopers Creek supporter, dies at age 86

Carroll W. Wilkie

HOOPERS CREEK — Carroll Weldon Wilkie, a longtime federal agriculture agent, former state senator and devoted supporter of his community and state, died Thursday at an assisted living center in Rock Hill, S.C., at age 86.

 

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m.  Tuesday, March 25, at Hooper's Creek Baptist Church in Hooper's Creek, officiated by the Rev. Charles Magnet. The family will receive friends one hour prior to services. Burial will immediately follow at Hooper's Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

 

Born in Fletcher, Carroll was one of 10 children of the late Grover and Jennie Dockings Wilkie. His wife, Elizabeth Anne Wright "Betty" Wilkie, preceded him in death. He was a 1950 graduate of Western Carolina Teachers College (Western Carolina University), earning a bachelor of science degree in education. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he retired as district supervisor with the U.S. Department of Agriculture serving all of Western North Carolina.

Carroll, a Republican, was a state senator from 1968-1970.

"I was a young child but from what my other family members have said, again it was about serving the people," his daughter, Beckie Cunningham, said of his decision to run for Senate. "He decided it was time for him to make a difference. He had a two-year term and then he had a Democrat to beat him. That got my mom ticked off and she ran against him and beat him" in the Nixon landslide year of 1972.

 

Mrs. Wilkie in turn lost her own re-election bid in the post-Watergate anti-Republican tide of 1974, but not before she made two lasting contributions to her region and state. She helped push through legislation that created the runaway truck ramps on I-40 down Old Fort Mountain and she sponsored the bill that made the honeybee the state insect.

"She listened to the beekeepers and then after that my dad became a beekeeper," Cunningham said. "My house was always a revolving door (of visitors). There was always a pot of coffee on and some kind of dessert and people would just come in and out or sit on the porch. (Her parents) very much wanted to fulfill their needs."

Grievances or desires ran the gamut at the crackerbarrel court, from getting a road paved to fighting a proposal by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the late 1960s and early 1970s to dam the Mills River for a drinking water reservoir serving  Asheville and Hendersonville.

 

"Carroll had a genuine heart for people," the family said in an obituary. "His constant service to others was contagious through the multiple communities he called home. He truly did not know a stranger. His compassion and virtue for people less fortunate was the foundation of his character. His dedication to Hooper's Creek community, Henderson County and the state of North Carolina was unsurpassed. His foresight and tireless effort helped change the lives of many people he came in contact with. His passions were his vegetable garden, politics, the Duke Blue Devils and his family. He never wavered from his vision and stayed true to his faith."

He was a member of Oak Forest Baptist Church in Hooper's Creek.

In accordance with his request, a headstone over the graves of Wilkie and his wife at the Hoopers Creek Baptist Church cemetery will read: "We tried to make a difference in the lives of people."

"That's what he drew out for me a couple weeks ago," his daughter said. "We will be putting my mom's ashes with him so they'll be together again for first time in 15 years."

Cunningham, who works in the senior care industry, moved her dad down to Rock Hill several years ago and has served in a caregiver role during his stay at the Agapé Senior Assisted Living center.

Surviving in addition to Beckie Cunningham and her husband, Chuck, are Mr. Wilkie's son, Stephen Wilkie, and his wife, Jan, of Hendersonville; three grandchildren, Kerry Wilkie and his wife, Jamie; Cassie Wilkie and Cameron Cunningham; and a great-granddaughter, Lauren Wilkie. In addition to his parents and wife, Mr. Wilkie was preceded in death by nine brothers and sisters.

The family extended a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Patel with Carolina Blood and Cancer, Agapé Senior Primary Care and the staff of Agapé Senior Assisted Living and Agapé Hospice for your care, compassion, and love of our Papa. The family also wishes to thank Joe Rhodes, who is with Shuler Funeral Home, for going out of his way to help us during our time of sorrow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Oak Forest Baptist Church Building Fund, 484 Jackson Road, Fletcher, NC 28732.

Condolences may be made on-line at www.shulerfuneralhome.com.

Shuler Funeral Home is assisting the family.