Maurice "M.R." Wilkinson 77, passed away peacefully in Gilroy, California on November 8, 2021, surrounded by his family. He was born August 26, 1944, in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin to his parents Dr. James Francis and Patricia Mercedes Wilkinson. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by six brothers, Jim, Jerry, Dick, Torch, David, and Tim Wilkinson and one sister Janet Snyder.

M.R. enlisted in the Air Force and served our country for four years including some time in Panama, as a mechanic and craftsman. After his discharge from the Air Force, he took a job at Samax Tool and Die Company in Sunnyvale, California learning another craft as a machinist. He owned Wilkinson Mfg. In Santa Clara. His love of machinery, mechanics and engineering brought him to a lifelong hobby of building and rebuilding many projects including rebuilding classic cars, helping his grandchildren build school projects and working on his farm with his partner, Delia Higuera. He loved to create and was an artist, drawing many subjects, almost always with humor including pictures of the grandchildren with humor paramount. If you knew M.R., you knew he was a fun-loving and kindhearted spirit. His sense of humor was well known to anyone who knew M.R. His love of the Green Bay Packers goes without saying.

He is survived and will be dearly missed by his four children, two daughters, Christina (David) Ray, Michelle (Tom) O'Neill and two sons Scott Wilkinson and Marc Robert (Melissa) Wilkinson, eight grandchildren, Tristan (Gina) Ray, Nicole, Molly and Kyle Wilkinson, Marcus, Ryan and Faye O'Neill and Peyton Wilkinson. He also leaves his brother P.J. Patrick (Firth)Wilkinson, his former wife and Mother of M.R.'s four children, Jaci Manthey as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The services will be held on Tuesday, November 23 ^rd at St. Mary's Catholic Church 11 1 ^st Street, Gilroy, California at 10:00 A.M.

In lieu of flowers, family has requested that donations be made to a Veterans Group in your area.