On Friday, April 16th, 2021, Ross Wilkinson passed away at the age of 87. Ross was born on August 31, 1933 in Toronto, Ontario to Robert and Catherine (Ingleson) Wilkinson. He was raised in West Hill and attended school up to grade nine. ‘Book learning’, as Ross called it, was never his thing! Ross was very creative and loved working with his hands, so he pursued a career as a cabinetmaker. On March 17th, 1961, Ross married Kathleen Boyd in Toronto. Together they moved to Edmonton for three years before moving to Vancouver Island for 13 years. The family settled in Medicine Hat after a brief stay in Eagle Lake, Ontario. During all these moves Ross put his building skills to good use, renovating the homes they purchased and then constructing furniture to fill them all. While living on Vancouver Island, Ross built the family’s Brentwood Bay home during his evenings and weekends. In Medicine Hat, Ross worked for a small cabinetmaking shop, where the owner had him reconstructing wooden frames for antique cars. This inspired Ross to proudly restore his own antique car, a 1928 Chevrolet and he joined the Medicine Hat Vintage Vehicles Club. Even after retirement, Ross never sat idle and continued his passion for woodworking, furniture building and helping family and friends with renovation projects. In his later years, Ross took up wood carving and was a member of the Medicine Hat Wood Carving Club. Ross leaves to cherish his memory two sons, Brian Wilkinson of Redcliff and Don Wilkinson of Bow Island; one daughter, Carol Wilkinson of Edmonton; brother-in-law, David Boyd; sister-in-law, Donna Olander; as well as several nieces and nephews.
A private graveside service will be held April 21st, 2021 at 3:00pm with Reverend James Bredeson officiating, Family and friends are welcome to participate via livestream by logging on to www.saamis.com and joining the live webcast on Ross' memorial page on the above date at 2:55. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ross' memory may be made to the Salvation Army, 164 Stratton Way SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta T1B 3R3. Condolences may be sent through www.saamis.com or to condolences@saamis.com subject heading Ross Wilkinson.