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TRYON – Joan Brunner Wilkinson died peacefully in her room at White Oak Manor in Tryon, NC on January 6, 2021 due to complications from covid-19 after a brief illness.   The daughter of the late Albert Brunner, Jr and Jewel H. Brunner, she was born on March 24, 1928 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  She spent her youth in Union, New Jersey, graduating from Union High School, and then attended the University of Maryland where she met her husband of 65 years, Robert Shryer Wilkinson, Jr.  They returned to Union where they lived until retirement in 1986.  

 

Joan was a substitute teacher for the Union Township Schools and was known for bringing her pet possum, Henry, to class. Upon retirement, the couple moved to Tryon, North Carolina where Joan was a founding member of the Tryon chapter of AAUW, active in the Garden Club and an avid Bridge player. Joan was a thoughtful, practical, and organized person and much loved by her family.

 

She was predeceased by her husband, Robert Shryer Wilkinson Jr; her son, Mark Robert Wilkinson; two sisters, Marjorie Brunner Rea and Corinne Brunner Malsbury; and her great grandson, Andrew Nicholas Adams. She is survived by her daughter, Diane Wilkinson; granddaughters, Eowyn Evans, Lisa Wilkinson, Lauren Adams and Claire Wilkinson; grandson Nate Evans and great grandchildren, Hudson, Colby and Kellan Adams; Arlo, Fiona and Beatrix Stehman; and Indigo and Ruby Eagle.

 

Gifts in her honor may be made to Hospice of the Carolina Foothills, P.O. Box 336 Forest City, NC 28043.  We encourage all to enjoy a large bowl of ice cream in her memory.

 

An online guest register is available at www.mcfarlandfuneralchapel.com 

 

McFarland Funeral Chapel

Tryon, North Carolina