Dan Franklin Wilkinson (77) was born June 21,1946, in Winchester, TN, to the delight of his three much older sisters. Growing up on a farm in Holder’s Cove meant a youth filled with hard work and death-defying mischief when out of the eyes of his mother. Dan’s first career was as a gunsmith which began at the ripe age of 7 when he nailed a pipe to a tree to make a gun while his momma wasn’t looking. This fine piece of craftsmanship shot the casing further than the bullet. From this, it was clear a backup career was needed. Thanks to a generous curve and miracles great and small, he graduated Middle Tennessee with a degree in Education. Shortly after graduating, he and Marlene married and soon welcomed their only child, Jennifer (whom he forevermore referred to as “Kid”). He was actually called up for the draft in 1970 but failed the entrance hearing exam because as part of his gunsmith career he shot cases of ammo every weekend of his young life and firmly believed “earplugs are for sissies”. Deciding his new family needed a house, he knew the first thing he needed was a sawmill which he built from scratch. He then logged the timber from the property which he used to build the house and all the furniture. Much of the house is made of solid oak so we’re pretty sure it will be standing unscathed amid the smoldering remains of the apocalypse. Between running a sawmill and teaching school full time he farmed 143 acres in his spare time. In full disclosure, about 0.0001 of those acres could be found in the back of his pick-up truck which was seeded in corn that had spilled and sprouted in the years of accumulated dirt. As an educator, Dan worked in various capacities in the school system for 40 years. Equipped with his “finely calibrated micrometer eyeball” he taught shop and mercilessly teased students for most of those years. His success as a woodworker was evident to all by the fact that he retired with all of his fingers still intact. After leaving the classroom he served as principal at Moore County High and then South Junior High before becoming Vocational Director for Franklin County School system. One of his all-time favorite jobs was reading meters part-time for Duck River after he retired because he loved to drive around in a truck, eat chicken wings, and pet random dogs. All who spent any time with him knows he loved to fish and loved even more teasing those who went with him about how small their fish were compared to his. One thing is for certain, no words on a page can do him justice. Dan was a son, brother, husband, father, provider, friend, teacher, believer in Jesus. God truly broke the mold when He made Dan Wilkinson. We loved him beyond measure and there will never be another like him.
Dan is preceded in death by Horace and Mamie Wilkinson (father and mother), Patty Wilkinson (sister), Rebecca Lovell (Sister) and Jean Van Hook (Sister). He is survived by his wife Marlene Wilkinson and daughter Jennifer Fraser (husband Brock Fraser) and his beloved dog Festus.
Visitation will be from 1-3pm on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home. Funeral Services will follow at 3:00 pm in the Chapel of Moore-Cortner Funeral Home. Interment will be at Franklin Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Franklin County Educational Foundation for Excellence https://www.fcedfoundation.org or to Winchester Christian Academy, 1230 South College Street, Winchester, TN or to the charity of your choice.
Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, 300 First Ave NW, Winchester, TN 37398, (931)-967-2222
