Charles Henry Wilkins

Mr. Charles Wilkins, 85, of Paris died Sunday, October 2, 2011, at Henry County Medical Center. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, October 8, 2011, at Rawls Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Edward Howard officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Charles attended elementary and high school in Georgetown, Kentucky. In 1945, during World War II, he was drafted into the Army Air Force; where he served as an airplane mechanic, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Charles worked in the hotel/banquet business, at the Kentucky Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, prior to going to serve in the military, and after he was honorably discharged . He managed the Parkway Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, until 1973; then worked at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, until his retirement in 1991. Charles accepted Christ at age twelve. He enjoyed attending the Sparks Street Church of Christ in Paris, Tennessee. Charles met Ruby Jean Yancy, and after an eighteen month courtship, they were married October 15, 1953. This union was blessed with five children. Along with Charles’s parents - his wife,Ruby Jean; daughter, Gloria Borders; son, Charles Wilkins, Jr.; two brothers, Harry Lee Wilkins and Otis Wilkins, Jr.; two sisters, Frances Relford and Carrie Jones preceded him in death. Charles leaves to cherish his life: three daughters, Janice McClain Wilson, Charrita (Dennis) Teague and Melba Wilkins, all of Paris, TN; son-in-law, Andrew Borders, Sr. of Chicago, IL; two sisters, Mary Glenn, of Lexington, KY and Ione Lott, of Park Forest, IL; brother-in-law, William Relford, of Matteson, IL; seven grandchildren, Chrishawn, Renee, Martice, Brooke, Carey, Andrew, Jr. and Veronica; twelve great grandchildren, Tiara, Jeanae, Bijon, Charnae, Nia, Sharnice, Cameron, Kyla, Jonathan, Andrew III, Jada and Reagan; one great-great grandchild, Jayce; “right hand man”, James Martin; fishing buddy, Henry Crowley; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Charles was loved by all, but God loved him best. Rawls Funeral Home – Paris 731-642-1515