Jessica Sink Wilkes

On June 22, 2014, Jessica Sink Wilkes (Jessica Marie Sink), 27, of Rock Hill, was welcomed into Heaven by the open arms of her mother. She left this world in her typical way of pure grace and elegance, after one of the most hard-fought battles against a rare and aggressive form of appendiceal cancer. Her efforts to fight this heartless disease, a battle she had won once before, turned out to be an inspiration to those near and far. She showed an enormous amount of strength and vigor throughout her entire fight, something that was no surprise to those who knew her.

Jessica was born on February 10, 1987 to Patricia Cloer Sink and Jack Clifton Sink, at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC. She was raised in Richburg, SC and spent many happy days forming lasting childhood friends in this small community. Jessica's thirst for knowledge and her willingness to open up to any culture made her an easy candidate for any friendship. In 2005, she graduated with honors from Richard Winn Academy, and was accepted to the University of Texas/Austin for the fall of 2005. During her undergrad, she developed a worldly attitude and a deepened passion for adventure. She graduated from UT with a major in Linguistics and a minor in Korean in 2011, and was a very proud Longhorn with a deep affinity for the eclectic life in Austin, Texas.

After Jessica graduated from UT in 2011, she returned home to the Carolinas to be with family, and to travel with longtime friends to Europe. Jessica held a great affinity for traveling, for foreign languages, and a true passion for “all foods foreign”- especially her beloved spicy Korean food. She was a devoted Longhorn, but her lifetime passion was in cheering the Duke Blue Devils in any sports capacity she could support, but especially basketball, and “Coach K”. While back at home, and after returning from Europe, Jessica rekindled a strong friendship with her high school friend Joshua Wilkes, and in 2012 they married in a small ceremony. Josh was the absolute love of her life; their love and devotion to each other was a wonderful example of what a marriage should be-uncompromising support, love and compassion.

The very happiest day of Jessica’s life was the birth of her beautiful daughter, Kennedy Patricia Wilkes on March 16, 2012. Jessica had many talents, and a tremendous capacity to love, as evidenced by her many long and enduring friendships. But her greatest accomplishments, and by far her proudest ones were in being a wonderful mother to Kennedy and a devoted wife to Josh. During the brief years of their wonderful marriage, they showed such joy in parenting Kennedy, and Jessica opted to be a stay-home mommy to ensure that their baby received care and nurturing from a mother’s arms.

In November of 2013, four months shy of Kennedy’s second birthday, Jessica became ill, and it was determined that cancer had returned in the form of Stage 4 appendiceal adenocarcinoma. From the beginning, Jessica was absolutely determined to defeat this once again, and fought this battle valiantly, with her devoted husband beside her throughout the entire ordeal. During the final days, the Duke cancer hospital staff, her Duke Oncology team and family members worked diligently to give Jessica a very special gift- a vow renewal at the Duke University Cathedral for her and Josh, on June 10, 2014. This was a childhood dream for her during her first chemo treatments over 14 years ago, and the place of much comfort and solace during those two years of battling childhood cancer. Such a happy day this was for everyone involved! Her final wish was to put her feet in the sand at Wrightsville Beach one last time. Josh rented a limo for his Jessica to accomplish this trip from the chapel in comfort and in style, a characteristically sweet gesture for his beautiful wife.

Jessica was truly a beautiful soul, with a miraculous spirit. Throughout her entire life, she showed tremendous courage and endurance. Jessica was able to light up a room without ever touching a switch, whether by a certain sarcastic remark or by an act of genuine kindness. She showed such an enduring compassion and selfless nature to everyone around her, even to the end. Josh and Kennedy were not the only two left behind by this tragedy, for she had an army of those whose lives she touched along the way. To each of us who watched her struggles with this disease, this was the truest definition of courage, willpower and grace under the most difficult of circumstances. These life lessons will be greatly missed by her family and friends, as will her beautiful smile and her absolute joy of living life to the fullest every day. A part of each of our hearts went with her to Heaven, and life will never be the same for so many who loved her so deeply. Jessica was already an angel, but she just now received her wings.

You are welcome to join us as we celebrate the life and accomplishments of our precious Jessica, in a way that she would have wanted. A visitation will be held on Wednesday evening, June 25 from 6-8 p.m. at Harry & Bryant Funeral Home, 500 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC. Services will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 4519 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, with burial services immediately afterward at Sharon Memorial Cemetery. A reception to celebrate her life will follow immediately afterward at Christ Lutheran Church.