Shirley Merlee Wilkinson

Shirley Merlee GrahamWilkinson, of Abilene, passed away Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at the age of 72. Funeral services, with Richard Melton officiating, will be at 10:00 am on Friday, August 15, 2008 in the chapel at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. Burial will follow in the McBee Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Thursday at the funeral home. November 28, 1935, Shirley was born the daughter of the late Verner Edgar Graham and Edna Mae (Aven) Graham in Tuscola, Texas. She graduated from South Taylor High School (now Jim Ned) in Tuscola. Shirley married LeRoy Wilkinson on October 14, 1955 at the Church of Christ in Tuscola. The couple moved to California where they lived for 36 years before returning to Texas in 1992. Shirley was a loving mother and grandmother. She had a great love for storytelling and especially loved to tell stories of her childhood growing up in Cedar Gap. Shirley was a member of Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Verner and Edna Graham, one son, Michael Aven Wilkinson, one brother, Carol Herbert Graham, and her step-father, Loyd Gifford Smith. She is survived by her husband, LeRoy Wilkinson, of Abilene; one son, Gregory Wilkinson and his wife Cynthia, of Kathleen, Georgia; one daughter, Alesa Michelle Chaffee and her husband Ronald, of Abilene; two brothers, Charles V. Graham and his wife Doris, and L.G. Smith, all of Cedar Gap; four grandchildren, Joshua and Jason Wilkinson, and Nicole and Kimberly Chaffee; three step-grandchildren; one nephew, Sam C. Graham and one niece, Charla Kay Hart. Shirley is also survived by nine great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made in honor of Shirley to the American Lung Association, 61 Broadway, New York, New York 10006; or to the Ben Richey Boys Ranch, 501 Ben Richey Drive, Abilene, Texas 79602.