LEXINGTON - Robert Pearce Wilkins, 79, was born on September 10, 1933 in Jesup, GA. to the late Ransom Little Wilkins and the late Sarah (Sally) Pearce. Bob lived his earlier years in Jesup and then moved to Florence, SC, to live with his aunt and uncle, the late Marion Chisolm Wallace and the late Anne Pearce Wallace.
He graduated from Porter Military Academy in Charleston, SC in 1950 and received a B.S. degree in 1953 from USC, followed by his J.D. degree from USC School of Law in 1955 and later an LLM at Georgetown Law School in 1957. He served in the U.S. Army Central Intelligence Corp. from 1955 until 1956 and then became an attorney with the Office of the Secretary of Army in Washington until the end of 1957.
Bob returned to South Carolina in 1957 and became the first Trust Officer at the First National Bank in Columbia until 1960. He then practiced law solo for a few years, later joining McLain, Sherrill, Walker, Townsend and Wilkins which later became the McKay Law Firm. In 1988 he went Of Counsel with Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough until 2003.
He was an Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Law from 1971 until 1978. He was actively involved in the Richland County Bar Association, the Lexington County Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar and the American Bar Association.
He was the founding editor of Legal Economics (now the Law Practice Management magazine) from 1974-78 and was named Editor Emeritus in 1978. He was the founding editor in 1986 and later was named Editor Emeritus of the South Carolina Lawyer. He later founded Probate and Property for the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association in 1989 and was named Editor Emeritus.
Bob was chairman of the Economics of Law Practice Section of the ABA from 1980-81 and served in the ABA House of Delegates from 1986-87. He was a member of the SC Bar Foundation from 1984-88 and President in 1988. He was a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, American College of Tax Counsel, Charter Fellow and Trustee of the College of Law Practice Management, a Life Fellow of the American Bar Association and the SC Bar Association. In 1997 he won the Platinum Complete Lawyer Award from the South Carolina Bar and the Diamond Circle Award from the USC School of Mass Communication and Informational Studies in 1998 and the Sam Smith Award, the highest award from the Law Practice Management Section of the ABA, in 2006.
He was also a long standing member (1964-2000) and President (1964-65) of the Columbia Estate Planning Council. He served on the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education from 1978-80 and was President in 1980.
Among Bob’s most valued accomplishments was being the Founder and Editor of Sandlapper Magazine in 1968. He was also the Editor of The Lawyer’s Microcomputer, The Lawyers PC, The Perfect Lawyer, and Shepard’s Elder Care/Law Newsletter.
He was the author and editor of Drafting Wills and Trust Agreements along with its supporting software from 1971 until 1995. In 1979 he wrote (with others) “Word Processing for a Law Office”. In 1984 he authored “What a Lawyer Needs to Know to Buy and Use a Computer”. In 2003 Bob wrote his final book, “50 Things to do With the Rest of Your Life”, which was a gift of love from him to all of us.
Bob was a frequent national and international lecturer on estate planning and computers. He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa leadership fraternity at USC.
In addition to his legal and writing activities, Bob was involved in many civic and community organizations. He was a member of the Columbia Jaycees and active in Richland and Lexington County Republican politics during the 1960’s and 70’s. He was a member of the Columbia Sailing Club from 1965 until now and actively sailed with his children and friends. He was a member of Lexington District 1 school board from 1971-78, serving as Chairman from 1975-78. He was a member of the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens from 1986-2007, serving as Chairman in 1995-96 and 1997-2002. He was a charter member of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Lexington.
He was a long time supporter of the University of South Carolina and never missed a basketball, baseball or football game.
Bob was an avid athlete. He played tennis, volleyball, racket ball, half rubber, bocce ball and was a church league softball pitcher.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rose Truesdale Wilkins and his children all of Lexington: Robert P. Wilkins, Jr. (Suzanne), daughters Sarah Wilkins Weiss (Wayne) and Anne Wilkins Brooks (Chuck). He was predeceased by his son Chisolm Wallace Wilkins (1985). His grandchildren are Gregory and Reese Wilkins; Wallace, Wilkins and Robert Weiss and CJ, Baker and Anna Brooks. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Louis L. Truesdale (Nini) of Camden and special niece Amy Truesdale Quiat (David) of Lexington and nephew Ashley Truesdale (Tina) of New Orleans and their mother Celia (Chet) Guerry of Columbia.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, January 20, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel and funeral services will be held at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 3:30 p.m.
The family would like to thank all of the wonderful staff at Agape in Lexington and Agape Hospice House for the care and love they gave to Bob.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 882, Lexington, SC 29071, South Carolina Bar Foundation, PO Box 221, Columbia, SC 29202 or a charity of your choice.
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