Wilkinson, Jule Porter

Jule Porter Wilkinson, 97, died peacefully Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, in Norway, Maine at the Norway Rehabilitation and Living Center. Born at home in June 1912, in Brookfield, Ill., she was raised in Western Springs, another suburb of Chicago. She started school in a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Downers Grove, Ill. A graduate of Lyons Township High School, she earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree at the University of Chicago in 1933. Several years later, she married John Adams Wilkinson. They subsequently had two children, Stephen and Christopher.

Jule Wilkinson possessed courage, confidence, a quick wit, strong opinions on many subjects, a steadfast heart and broad interests including politics, culinary arts, history, art, day lilies and jazz. She was a storyteller and could recount, among other memories, the joyous end of the First World War. She was a beloved mentor and role model to her daughter-in-law, nieces, grandson and many friends. She cherished the community of Norway, Maine, in part because it recalled her rural upbringing in Illinois. Her hospitality and grand cooking are an important part of the legacy she leaves to her family and friends.

For much of her working life (which began in the seventh grade in 1925 when she was a correspondent for a weekly regional newspaper earning 25 cents per text inch) she was a writer and editor. Her first full-time work came in 1933, following college graduation. A new newspaper was looking for a correspondent and she got the job. She began even more engaging work with a publishing company in 1944. Between 1947 and 1976, she was on the editorial staff of Institutions Magazine, a national publication located in Chicago, which was devoted to the hospitality industry. She became associate editor at the magazine in 1950, and continued to serve as food editor. During the 1960s, she oversaw the creation of several textbooks in association with the Culinary Institute of America. She edited the first edition of The Professional Chef (1962), wrote The Art of Garde-Manger and edited numerous other books by chefs including Notes from the Chef's Desk by Arno Schmidt, the executive chef of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Mrs. Wilkinson was the book and education editor for Institutions/Volume Feeding Magazine and chief editor for the entire line of Cahners Publishing Company's food service and lodging books at the time of her retirement in 1976. She was modest about her work accomplishments, but her family thinks of her as a pioneer for women at work outside the home.

After a brief residence in Royal Oak, Mich., during the early years of World War II, she resided with her family in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's south side until 1958. Then the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when her husband joined the administration of Coe College. In 1976, following their respective retirements, they moved to Norway, Maine, where she resided until her death.

Mrs. Wilkinson is survived by her son, Christopher and his wife, Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson; a grandson, Samuel Evan Wilkinson and his wife, Bobbi Nesbitt, and two grandchildren, Alexis Porter Wilkinson and Montgomery Jackson Wilkinson, all of Morgantown, W.V.

She was predeceased by her husband and by her son. Stephen.

Carroll and Christopher Wilkinson wish to acknowledge the caring circle of friends, neighbors and staff in the Norway community who supported Jule in her later years, enabling her to maintain her independence and dignity as long as possible.

A memorial service will be held in Norway, Maine, in the summer of 2010. Jule Wilkinson was an avid reader all of her life and a loyal supporter of the Norway Memorial Library. Those wishing to honor her memory may to make a donation to the Norway Memorial Library, 58 Main St., Norway, ME 04268.