Michael Gene Wilkinson

Michael Gene Wilkinson was born November 14, 1950 in Oklahoma City, OK and died November 16, 2008 in Austin, TX after a lengthy battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Mike was a devoted father and husband, and an advocate for children, working as a school teacher before founding the Kids Exchange, an Austin non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating visitation for children of divorced parents. Later in life, he worked at Dell Computers in Round Rock, TX. Wilkinson loved the outdoors and vacationing in Alaska. He was an avid bicycler, fisherman and kayaker, and he shared these passions with his oldest daughter Rachel. A proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma and a huge football and basketball fan, he traveled throughout the country to watch his beloved Oklahoma Sooners, and he made sure his son could sing the OU fight song before he could talk. Wilkinson was preceded in death by his parents, Russell Harrell Wilkinson and Eugene Andrews Wilkinson, and two brothers, Larry Kevin Wilkinson and Gordon Wilkinson. He is survived by his wife, Michele Morgan, and their three children - Rachel Joy (10), Emily Grace (7) and Zachary Michael Bud (4) - all of Austin; three sisters, Lanola "Sissy" Borin of Dallas, TX, Billie Sue McEntire of Sedona, AZ and Beverly Thrasher of Phoenix, AZ; and a brother, Russell Harrell "Rusty" Wilkinson, Jr. of Princeton, LA., and; many extended family members and friends. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, November 23 at St. Matthew's Episcopal, 8134 Mesa Dr., Austin, TX with military honors being rendered by the US Army. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, 100 Timberdell Rd., Norman, Oklahoma 73019, ALS Association of Central Texas, 6800 Park Ten Blvd., Suite 220N, San Antonio, Texas 78213 or Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78759. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com