Wilma Baldner Watkins

Wilma B. Watkins died July 5th in her home in Kirtland Hills after a long, courageous battle against cancer. She was born February 3rd, 1942 in Holmes County. 

Her parents were Lucille and Andrew Baldner, and she graduated from Jeromesville High School and Samaritan Nursing School. Wilma went to Cleveland to work on the medical surgical floor of Hanna House Hospital of University Hospitals. She met her husband Fred when he was a law student at Case Western Reserve Law School, and they were married for 55 years.

 Wilma and her husband were long time members of Faith Lutheran Church in Mentor where she taught Sunday School and was a member of both the choir and the Women’s Guild. She enjoyed traveling with her children and grandchildren and visited many of the National Parks. Wilma was also a member and officer of the Garfield Garden Club and enjoyed making beautiful arrangements with flowers from her own garden for friends and family. 

She was also a talented quilter who made many beautiful quilts as gifts for family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and always looked forward to their visits. She also enjoyed spending time in nature as well as riding her recumbent bike to help strengthen her during her battle with cancer. Wilmadevoted a lot of time to reading andwould travel to three different libraries for new books and movies. She prioritized philanthropy, making gifts to different charities to help people in need. She and her husband established scholarships for nursing at Concordia University Michigan and the Johnson Graduate School of Business at Cornell University. Wilmaalways looked forward to receiving phone calls and visits from friends and relatives, especially during her illness.

She is survived by her husband Fred; her three children Christopher (Catherine), Timothy (Cristy), and Anna (John); six grandchildren Peter, Beatrice, Phoebe, Madeline, Sophia, and Jack; and three surviving siblings Carl, Ray, and Carol (preceded in death by Gerald and Ralph); and many nieces and nephews.

Donations may be made to Faith Lutheran Church Memorial Fund in memory of Wilma Watkins, 8125 Mentor Avenue, Mentor, Ohio 44060. The Memorial Service for Wilma will be at Faith Lutheran Church on Friday,  August 1st at 11:00 a.m.