Obituary of Monique M. Wilkin

AIKEN, SC-- Monique M. Wilkin, age 69, passed away Friday March 30, 2018.

Monique was born on February 18, 1949 in Evansville, IN.

She is preceded in death by her father, Victor E. Johnson.

Monique is survived by her mother, Wanda J. Johnson (Jarkiewicz); her loving husband of 47 years, Peter M. Wilkin; two children Peter M. Wilkin Jr. (Tiffany Narowski) Olney, MD, and Matthew S. Wilkin (fiancée Jennifer Beck) Aiken, SC; grandchild Peter M. Wilkin III; her brothers Robert S. Johnson (Kathryn Loritz) Naperville, IL, and Mark A. Johnson (Melinda) Colorado Springs, CO; many beloved brother and sister in laws, nieces, nephews and extended family.

Monique spent 20 years with Verizon Inc., and 10 years in telecommunications engineering consulting. In addition to her loving family, Monique had many friends within the community. Monique was very giving of herself and helped and supported all of her family and friends in many ways. She will be missed by all who knew her.

A prayer service will be held at 6:15 PM on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at George Funeral Home with visitation following until 8:00 PM.

A Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at the Old Historic St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, Park Ave., with the Very Rev. Father Gregory Wilson as celebrant. Interment will be private.

 

The Historic George Funeral Home, 211 Park Ave. ,SW, Aiken, SC 29801 (803.649.6234), has charge of arrangements.

 

Expressions of sympathy for the Wilkin family may be left by visiting www.georgefuneralhomes.com

 

Below are eulogies from the service of Monique Wilkin:

 

Monique is sister to me and Mark. She is Wanda’s daughter. She is Pete’s beloved wife. She is Peter and Matthew’s mother, and Petey’s grandmother.

 

She is sister in law and aunt and cousin and many other relations to many many family. She is friend and helper of neighbors and coworkers and anyone she ever ran into.

 

Monique is loving. She loved her husband, she loved her mother, she loved her kids and grandkids, she loved her brothers and all her family.

 

Monique is giving. She took care of so...many...of us. She has cared for Pete in many ways for their whole life together. She has cared for her kids their whole life. She has cared for her mother, particularly since our father passed.

 

She helps friends get to doctor appointments. She gets their mail. She figures out how to get things done and then she does it.

 

She is the binder for all of us. She holds us all together. When times are good she helps us celebrate. When times are tough she helps us deal with it. Through thick and thin, she is always there.

 

So many of us turn to her when we are happy or hurt, wanting to share or needing to share, looking for advice or begging for guidance. She is always there.

 

She is at the center of many of our universes. At least a major constellation for everyone else. But she is Monique, the wonderful Monique, the one we go to for so much and she is always there.

..............

 

And now she is not there. She has passed....suddenly, unexpectedly, unbelievably, incomprehensibly, impossibly......she has left us.

 

How do we go on?

 

We go on as she would have wanted us to. We go on loving each other every day. We go on helping each other every day. We go on making sure the routine continues and the special things are handled.

 

We go on.

 

And, as we go on, we will always remember Monique.

 

........

This is where I was going to talk about memories. Memories of my big sister “watching” Mark and me as kids. Memories of being at Ocean City with her and Pete and the kids. Memories of just talking in her kitchen for hours about life and family.

 

I can’t. The memories are too raw, they bring too much grief in my heart. I can’t talk about them now.

 

 

But they are within me. They fill that part of my soul that is Monique. And I will treasure them, and savor them, and meander through them every day.

 

And each memory is a nugget of joy to bring happiness in my heart. Happiness that we did have Monique with us for so much. Happiness that we can remember so many good times, so many tough times, so many times spent with Monique that made us all better people.

..........

 

So now we say goodbye to Monique here on earth. And we will miss her terribly.....terribly....terribly.

 

But we have her in our hearts, our souls, our memories forever. So let us remember together as we help each other through this difficult time.

 

I love you Monique. We all do.

 

..........

 

Monique embodied good humor, good spirit and good energy. We think of her always doing something with a smile and a joke that was borne with a unique and interesting sense of humor. We had such a good time growing up with Monique and all the times that we had going through the journey of life together. Her humor was unique and intelligent. Her way of looking at the world and dealing with matters in a fun and unique style defined our family in many ways.

She worked so hard and did so much for s many people in such a selfless way. She gave herself fully to the typical responsibilities of work and family but she gave so much more than that to help everyone that was involved with her in any way. She particularly helped her mother after the death of her father. She also went out of her way to help those who needed it. At family gatherings she was always the one with the most energy and was most instrumental in making the family gathering happen well.

Monique liked to do. She liked to give. And she did so in an energetic, funny and positive way. Monique loved to help whoever she could and everyone loved her back.

She was as gentle as she was energetic. Kindness and understanding guided her.

The intelligence that was in her humor was actually just a part of her intelligence in general. She had a successful career in a highly technical profession and approached things very thoughtfully.

She was just fun to know and be with. She was kind and gentle and loving.

Monique was simply taken too soon. We didn’t get all of the time that we would have liked to have had to be with her.

We can find solace in that Monique had a good life overall and was certainly very loved. She was a good daughter, a beloved wife, sister and mother.

We will miss her dearly and carry her in our memories forever.