Barbara Thorp Wilkins

Barbara Thorp Wilkins, 89, a resident of Pecan Plantation in Granbury, passed away on Friday March 27 while in San Antonio. Born May 27, 1930 in Hood County, Texas to Joe Henry Thorp and Flora Mae Denton Thorp, she lived most of her life in North Texas with her late husband Larry Wilkins.
Barbara spent most of her childhood in Fort Worth, being raised by her Mother and stepfather, Joseph H. Jones. She had an older brother, James who preceded her in death by over 30 years. After graduating from Paschal High School in 1948 she was admitted to North Texas State Teachers (now North Texas State University) graduating class of 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. Upon graduation, she served as a Secretary to the Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Southwest edition. From 1953 to 1958 she worked as a Secretary for Mid-Continent Supply Co. in Fort Worth. In 1958 she moved to Houston and served as Executive Secretary to the President of Kirby Petroleum. It is there that she met and married Larry John Wilkins who was a Sales Engineer for Gardner-Denver. In 1962, after the birth of their first son, the couple moved to Colorado, where their second son was born. In Denver, Colorado, Barbara worked for the L.G. Balfour Company while her husband Larry worked as a homebuilder in partnership with his brother, Dick. After moving back to Texas in 1974, Barbara focused her efforts on raising her family of two sons. She was a good sport when it came to camping trips, wilderness vacations and other far-flung adventures throughout the Southwest. She also spent a lot of time cheering for her sons in little league and high school sports. In 1996, she moved back to her birthplace of Hood County where she and Larry became active residents at Pecan Plantation in Granbury. It is from there that they headquartered between RV excursions throughout the West. She was part of a sisterhood of Sweet Adelines and was a member of the 1992 Rich-Tone Chorus as they achieved an International Championship. As a mother, she was a strong influence for maintaining a positive outlook on life no matter the circumstances. She had a passion for genealogy and used that to instill a solid sense of belonging-to-a-place and to-a-people for her son’s and grand-children.
Barbara is preceded in death by Larry, her husband of 52 years. She is survived by sons Neal and his wife Sandra, and John and Sue Spicer, granddaughter Ashley O’Quinn, and her husband Sean O’Quinn, grandson Matt Wilkins, and his wife Sarah Bainbridge Wilkins. She was strong in her faith in the Lord and was loved by all. For over six years, she has planned for a big date… Above!
The family is grateful to her neighbors Mud and Nicki Kennedy for their caring friendship and acts of kindness. We also thank the doctors and nurses in the ICU at Stone Oak Methodist Hospital, San Antonio, Texas for their compassionate care.
Barbara is to be buried with Larry in the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. A memorial for family and friends to celebrate Barb’s life will be announced as soon as we are all able to gather again. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Pecan Plantation Volunteer Fire Department and EMS, 9518 Monticello Drive, Granbury, Texas 76049.