Aurora mourning civil rights pioneer
Fred Rogers says he can't even imagine what Aurora would be like today without Marie Wilkinson.
"I would hate to think about it," said Rogers, Aurora's former youth services director, of his longtime mentor.
Wilkinson, 101, spent decades advocating tirelessly for children and civil rights in the city. She died Thursday night after a lengthy illness.
After moving to Aurora from New Orleans in 1922, Wilkinson helped found dozens of social service agencies in the city, including the Quad County Urban League, Feed the Hungry, the Breaking Free drug program and the Aurora Fair Housing Board.
She also created a food pantry and child development program that both bear her name and was instrumental in launching the first fair housing ordinance in Illinois.
Alderman Richard Irvin called her a pioneer.
"She fought for civil rights and to improve people's circumstances long before it was popular," he said.
Her closest friends and colleagues said Wilkinson lived and breathed her work, even during the toughest times. Alderwoman Scheketa Hart Burns said Wilkinson kept fighting injustice even when she developed cancer as a young woman and doctors declared her terminal.
In fact, said Rogers, a lyric by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson sums up Wilkinson best.
"The song said, 'I'm going to live the life I sing about in my song,' and that was Marie," said Rogers. "She walked the walk."
Before becoming ill several years ago, Wilkinson explained her drive: "God chose me not to sit around but to help people. As long as I'm living on this earth, I'm going to keep doing what I have to do."
Wilkinson earned many accolades for her work, including an Aurora park and a street named in her honor. In 2001 she was awarded the Catholic Church's highest honor for American missionary work, the Lumen Christi Award.
She also was feted on May 6, 2008, for her 99th birthday by the city of Aurora. To celebrate, the city unveiled a $95,000 sculpture depicting Wilkinson sitting on a bench and holding a bouquet of flowers and the bullwhip she inherited from her father-in-law, who was a former slave.
The sculpture was funded through the Public Art Commission and federal community block grant funds.
Hart Burns said these honors will be an important reminder of Wilkinson's work, but the people of Aurora should go a step further to continue her legacy of inclusion.
"We all can having a Marie Wilkinson in us," Hart Burns said. "If each one of us started to volunteer, to give back, to advocate or share even a smile - because she had a radiant smile - she lives forever. "
Memorial services will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18, with prayers of the Rosary, followed by visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. at Daleiden Mortuary, 220 N. Lake St., Aurora. The funeral begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, at St. Rita of Cascia Catholic Church, 750 Old Indian Trail, Aurora. Burial will follow at Lincoln Memorial Park, 675 Route 30, Aurora. Repass will follow at St. Rita. For details, call (630) 631-5500.