NEW BEDFORD — Lorraine Armanda Wilkinson, of New Bedford, died on October 2, 2012, at Hathaway Manor from complications resulting from a stroke. She was the widow of the late Roger Wilkinson, who died in September 1996.
She was born on March 10, 1936, in New Bedford, to Victor and Beatrice Drolet. She was their second child and first daughter. Her brother Leopold Drolet and her sister Rachel Arruda predeceased her.
She married the love of her life, Roger on April 19, 1956, at St. Anthony's Church in New Bedford. She had three children, Donald, Mark and Debra, and she acted like a mother to neighborhood kids, and the high school friends and college buddies of her children, many who called her "Ma."
For many years, she was employed as a salvage operator at Titleist, where she worked until 1996, when she became disabled by a stroke. Since 1999, she has lived at Hathaway Manor, where she was befriended and adored by other residents and staff.
In her later years, she lived a simple and quiet life, content to watch television, read the newspapers and gossip magazines, and visit with family, especially her grandchildren.
She is survived by her oldest son, Don Wilkinson, his wife Elizabeth, and their children, Isabelle and Nigel of Fairhaven; her second son, Mark Wilkinson of Fairhaven; her daughter, Debra Doyon and her husband, Ronald Doyon of Palm Harbor, Florida; her grandson, Craig Wilkinson and his partner, Crystal Young of Bridgewater; her granddaughter, Amanda Bolduc and her husband, Bobby Bolduc, and their son, Myles, of New Bedford; her sister, Muriel Rostrun of New Bedford; and Jim Heyes of Hanover, New Hampshire, who she loved as a son. In addition she leaves behind many nieces and nephews.
A viewing will be held at the Wilson Funeral Home, 479 County St., New Bedford on Thursday, October 4, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. Service will be on Friday at 10:00. She will be buried at the Rural Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association