Obituary of Boyd Wilkins

Funeral services for Mr. Boyd Wilkins age 85 of Columbia will be held 2pm Sunday January 11, 2009 at the First United Methodist Church in Columbia with the Rev. Stuart Sherman and Bro. Bob McIlwain Officiating. Interment will follow in the Wilkins Family Cemetery, east of Columbia. The family will receive guests on Sunday from 1:00 pm until time of service at the church. Boyd Wilkins, Jr. was born on March 22, 1923 in Caldwell Parish to the union of Verna Estess and Boyd Wilkins,Sr. Boyd graduated from Columbia High School in 1940 and then attended Northeast Louisiana College of Monroe until he volunteered for the Air Force. He served in World War II as a navigator / bombardier in a B-29 Superflying Fortress and participated in seventeen bombing missions over Japan. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service to his country. Mr. Wilkins was preceded in death by his mother and father , his two sisters, Sybil Hixson and Opal Berlin, and his two brothers, Merlin Wilkins and Berl Wilkins. Mr. Wilkins is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Lottie Tarver Wilkins, his two sons, Phillip D.Wilkins and Paul B. Wilkins, his daughter, Gaylne D. Wilkins McIlwain, seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren and his sister, Barbara Jean Walker. Boyd was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Columbia and served on the church board for many years. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed duck, deer, dove, and squirrel hunting. He was an avid golfer. Most of all he loved his family and was a true inspiration and example of how a man should lead his life. He retired from the U. S. Postal Service as Post Master in Columbia. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, a devout Christian, and a loving and caring husband and father. Pallberarers will be Harper Wilkins, Josh Lowerey, C.W> Lewis, Neil Riser, Ronnie Darden, and Buster Mullin.