Thalia K. Wilkinson

August 13, 1934 - November 15, 2015

Thalia Kyle Wilkinson passed away Sunday at her home surrounded by her family following a long illness. She was born in Bonham, Texas to Oley T. and Alice Mae Kyle, and moved to Modesto as a teenager along with her siblings Valli and Hanse. After High School she worked as an operator for Bell Telephone. On a blind date she met and fell in love with Dan Wilkinson. They married and had 3 children, moving from place to place as Dan’s work took him. They lived throughout the world, including time in Los Angeles, Chicago, London, La Selva Beach, Baltimore, Aptos, Gilroy, Hamburg, Napa and St. Helena before finally settling in Benicia 15 years ago. She was an exceptional homemaker, and for a time supplied her delicious desserts to several restaurants in the Santa Cruz area. Thalia had style! She enjoyed gardening and was an avid cook and baker, also a great house painter, seamstress, quilter, and a wonderful loving mother and grandma......in fact she was our “Martha Stewart”! She loved to read and tell us stories of her childhood in Texas. She was our memory keeper, and will be missed enormously by all her friends and family. Thalia loved children and nature, especially yellow roses and rocking babies. She is survived by Dan, her husband of more than 60 years, as well as son Philip, daughter Corrin, daughters-in-law Nannette Wilkinson, Janette Emery and her beloved grandchildren: Gabriel, Lucas & Matias Gras (of Brazil), Cole, Karenna & Kyle Wilkinson and Morgan Snarr, and adored great-grandsons, Thomas Gras of Taiwan and Martim Gras of Brazil. She was preceded in death by her son Russell Wilkinson (aka Will Shatter) in 1988. Services will be private. Family prefers donation to the Cancer Support Community, www.cancersupportcommunity.org.