Ann Childress Morton Wilkening

“And what will you tell him?” Ann was asked.

Ever witty, she answered, “I haven’t finished my speech yet.”

Assignment complete, Ann passed away at The Gardens of Rome where she had spent her final 11 years in assisted living, needing very few of the services available until just after turning 100 on Aug. 23, 2021.

Born in Nashville to Mary Crockett and Rice Denny Morton, she later would graduate from Ward-Belmont College. Ann would spend many years in Knoxville with her beloved Jack raising their three children. She was dedicated to her family, her longtime friends and her church, Washington Pike United Methodist, where she was involved in the women’s circle and Sunday School classes. She also enjoyed her bridge clubs, music and reading.

It took a medical issue to convince her to move from a family home decorated with memories to Rome, Ga., to be near her daughters and their families.

After recovering, she insisted on getting her own room at what was then known as Roman Court and basically held court for the next decade. Midday and evening meals, card games and bingo, any sort of live entertainment (especially music) kept Ann and an ever-changing circle of friends in good spirits.

Her greatest love was her family and she cherished time spent with her children, her seven loving grandchildren and her 11 great-grandchildren, the latest arriving two years ago in San Francisco. He was the only one she didn’t meet because of pandemic concerns. But that didn’t stop a flood of pictures, either framed or on electronical digital displays.

Always a voter back home, Ann proudly voted in the 2020 presidential election at age 99.

In Heaven she joins her parents, her husband of 60 years, Harold John “Jack” Wilkening; son and daughter-in-law, John Denny and Lynn Wilkening; and her sister and brother-in-law, Crockett and Buford Greenwalt.

Survivors include her daughters Mary Ann Dement (Bob) and Jean Druckenmiller (John). Her grandchildren include Scott (Laura Marett) Wilkening, Douglas (Janelle) Wilkening, and Kathryn Wilkening; Beth (David) Ertl, Brandon (Natalie) Dement, Lauren (Joseph) King; and Jack Druckenmiller. Also surviving are 11 great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at eleven o'clock in the morning (CDT) on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Dignity Hall of Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home. The service will be streamed live on Facebook @Woodlawn-Roesch or by joining the live stream link below. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Memorial Park. A gathering of family and friends will be held one hour prior.

Those wishing to remember Ann may make memorials to Washington Pike United Methodist Church, 2241 Washington Pike, Knoxville, Tenn., 37917, or the Alzheimer’s Association of Middle Tennessee, P.O. Box 41428 , Nashville, Tennessee 37204.

The family wishes to thank the staff of The Gardens of Rome for their love and care for the past 11 years and, more recently, the caring staff of Amedisys Hospice.

Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, South Chapel, in Rome, Ga., is in charge of local arrangements and announces for the family.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Woodlawn-Roesch-PattonFH.com for the Wilkening family.