Edwin Benjamin Wilkinson, 94, Lone Jack, Missouri, died Thursday, January 1, 2015 at the Missouri Veterans Home in Warrensburg, Missouri. Masonic Service/Funeral service will be held beginning at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 6, 2015 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, Missouri. Visitation will be from 1:00-2:00 Tuesday at the Atkinson Funeral Home. Burial will be in Lone Jack Cemetery, Lone Jack, Missouri. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lone Jack Cemetery or to Lone Jack Christian Church.

Edwin was born December 30, 1920 in Lone Jack, Missouri, the son of John Wesley and Eula May (Bynum) Wilkinson. He attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse called the Liberty School, one mile away from the family farm in rural Johnson County, Missouri. He was a 1938 graduate of Lone Jack High School.

In 1943, Edwin joined the U. S. Navy and attended Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, where he graduated from the Officer's Training Midshipman's School in December, 1943. He served in WWII as an officer on two naval ships, the U.S.S. Storm King and the U.S.S. Bountiful. During his service, he earned three medals of distinction, the Asiatic pacific 4 Star, the Philippine Liberation 2 Star, and the American Theatre WWII Victory Medal.

After the war, Edwin continued his education at Central Missouri State Teachers College from 1946-1947 and received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, with a major in Agriculture and Biology and a minor in Industrial Arts. In 1948 he graduated from The University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture. He received his Teacher's Certification in 1949 and taught Vocational Agriculture to Veterans in Cass County, Missouri.

On November 18, 1950, Edwin married Florence Kerr. They had six children. Throughout his life, Edwin worked part time on the Wilkinson family farm, outside of Lone Jack, where he assisted his father and brother, raising livestock, cattle, sheep, and pigs and a variety of crops. Edwin was employed at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, outside of Kansas City, Missouri, for several years and then in 1972, he went to work as a rural postal carrier in Lone Jack. He retired from the Post Office in 1995 with 23 years of service.

Edwin has always been a hard working individual, showing his devotion and dedication, not only through his work on the farm, but by serving his community through his occupation. He has enjoyed spending time with his family, and is proud to have had the opportunity to serve and protect his country during WWII. He was a member of the Lone Jack Christian Church, a 50+ member of the Jewel Masonic Lodge #480 AF&AM, Pleasant Hill, Missouri.

Edwin was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Florence, on January 17, 2013, and one granddaughter, Lisa A. (Loftis) Piburn on April 11, 2011. He is survived by two sons, Jack E. Wilkinson (Carolyn), Lone Jack, Missouri and William "Wesley" Wilkinson (Jeff Baer), Elverta, California; four daughters, Lois A. Loftis (Phillip), Lone Jack, Vicki L. Cada, Lee's Summit, Missouri, Sherry M. Aldridge (Roger), Lone Jack, and Lori F. Wilkinson, Lone Jack; one sister, Florence Adams, Oak Grove, Missouri; 9 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.