Services for Ronnie Edward Wilkins, 73, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, February 27, 2021 in the Gipson Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in the Garden of Memories Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 9:00 a.m. to service time on Saturday at the funeral home.
Mr. Wilkins was born on July 11, 1947 to Edward Wilkins and Mary Ravel Clark Wilkins in Lufkin, Texas. He resided and attended school in Diboll, Texas, graduating from Diboll High School in 1965. He then attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas from 1965-1972, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Industrial Technology and minoring in Sociology and then later earned his Master’s degree in Industrial Arts. While attending college, he was a member of the Army ROTC and received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army upon graduation.
Mr. Wilkins married his childhood sweetheart, Peggy Laverne Wilkerson, of Diboll and had two children together, Jeffrey Clay Wilkins and Lance Alan Wilkins.
He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Following OCS, he attended several training courses and culminated his military career at the rank of Captain in the US Army Corps of Engineers with the Texas Army National Guard.
Mr. Wilkins began his civilian career working out of the union hall of Operating Engineers, driving equipment and operating small machinery. In 1970, he began working with Head & Guild Equipment Company as a Driver and Crane Operator. He progressed through the ranks from Dispatcher to Salesman to Vice President and in 1986, he bought the company and became the President and CEO. Although the company was struggling and in bankruptcy, with God’s help and Ronnie’s business expertise, he rebuilt it to be thriving and profitable. Over the course of time, the competition noticed the strength of the company and made Mr. Wilkins an offer he felt inclined to accept in 2000.
Mr. Wilkins eventually moved to “Wilkinswood”- a 75-acre piece of paradise near Madisonville, Texas. There, he built a beautiful log cabin on a cliff overlooking Boggy Creek and this is where he lived for the remainder of his amazing life. He loved working on his property, hunting, traveling, playing his guitar, drinking coffee, and eating Blue Bell Ice Cream.
He is survived by his loving, strong-willed sons and their families: Jeffrey Clay Wilkins and wife Elbeth Bucol Wilkins of Crosby, Texas. Lance Alan Wilkins and wife Cinnamon Louise Wilkins along with two amazing grandchildren, Rhett Alan Wilkins and Hannah Louise Wilkins of Prescott Valley, Arizona.
Condolences may be offered at www.gipsonfuneralhome.com
Services have been placed in the trust of Gipson Funeral Home.
