Mitzi Ardeen (Sanders) Wilkinson

The matriarch of her family, Mitzi was remembered by friends as both “sweet” and “feisty,” with a wry sense of humor. A nurse by profession and a devoted mother and grandmother, she approached life with the practicality, resilience, and sense of duty characteristic of the generation shaped by World War II and its aftermath.

Family remained the center of Mitzi’s life, from her early years in Edinburg to the generations she helped raise in Tyler.

The daughter of Elbert and Rae Sanders, Mitzi was born June 17, 1934, in Edinburg, in South Texas. Close to her parents, grandparents, brother, and extended family, Mitzi’s childhood was reshaped by World War II when the Sanders family moved to Los Angeles while her father served in the Pacific theater. Upon returning to Edinburg after the war in 1945, she served in the drum corps during her high school years.

Mitzi pursued a career in nursing. After graduating from Scott & White School of Nursing in Temple in 1955, she moved with friends to Tyler where she worked at Medical Center Hospital’s neonatal unit before becoming head nurse of the hospital’s intensive care unit.

In 1961, Mitzi met Fred Wilkinson, a laboratory technician at a nearby clinic during a routine visit to the hospital. After a brief courtship, they married in 1962 and moved from a second-story garage apartment in central Tyler to a home on Golden Road, where they lived for the next six decades.

Mitzi left Medical Center in 1966 to focus on raising the couple’s children and encouraging her family’s passions. Their son, Earl, was born in late 1965, followed by daughter Rachel in 1967. She encouraged Rachel’s interests in softball and, later, high school band. She supported Earl’s participation in flag football and baseball, and eventually his love of journalism. She also supported Fred’s volunteer work at Broadway Church of Christ, where he served as a deacon and elder.

After years devoted primarily to raising her family, Mitzi returned to nursing in the 1980s, working as a registered nurse for Liberty Mutual Insurance in Tyler until her retirement in 1993.

A member of Broadway Church of Christ for 51 years, Mitzi taught Bible classes and served in the nursery. She remained a faithful attendee until her passing.

Over the decades, Mitzi was the family shopper and cook, a craftswoman, and an avid crocheter and quilter.

Shopping, in particular, was a passion — from clipping newspaper coupons and heading out at 5:00 a.m. for day-after-Thanksgiving bargains to browsing QVC and, eventually, scrolling through Amazon.

In later years, Mitzi and Fred helped raise their granddaughters, Chelsea and Chloe. Known as “Nana” and “Pop,” they cared for the girls while their parents worked and were fixtures at their school activities and in their everyday lives.

Mitzi and Fred also traveled extensively in retirement, visiting Europe, Latin America, and destinations throughout North America, often with Earl. On their own, they enjoyed driving tours of New England, the American South, the Mountain West, and the Texas Hill Country with its bluebonnet trails.

In her final years, the woman who had cared for newborns as a nurse, raised two children, and helped raise two granddaughters increasingly needed care herself. As Mitzi’s health declined, her daughter Rachel became her primary caregiver, providing steady care and support, including during Mitzi’s time at a nursing facility in nearby Whitehouse.

Mitzi is survived by her son, Earl Wilkinson; daughter, Rachel Dingler, and son-in-law, Bobby Dingler; granddaughters, Chelsea Booth and Chloe Schmidt, as well as her husband, Zach Schmidt; great-grandchildren, Ryker and Rynlee Schmidt; and nieces, Karen Jacobs and Melissa Ramsey. She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Wilkinson, who died in early 2025; her parents, Elbert and Rae Sanders; and her brother, W.C. Sanders.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 11, at Broadway Church of Christ in Tyler, followed by graveside services at Cathedral of the Pines. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. Flowers may be sent to Broadway Church of Christ, 100 Cumberland Road, Tyler, Texas 75703. Arrangements are under the direction of Lloyd James Funeral Home.

Mitzi Wilkinson lived a life defined less by grand gestures than by the countless small acts of love and care she extended to those around her. Her family will remember her steady presence, her quick wit, and the warmth she brought to their lives. She will be deeply missed.