Mike Wilkerson

Michael Layne Wilkerson, 72, of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, passed away on Monday, December 26, 2022. Services will be held at Harrod Brothers Funeral Home on Friday, December 30, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. with Dr. Daniel Koehn officiating. Burial will follow at Frankfort Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Harrod Brothers Funeral Home from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. service time on Friday. Mike was born in Glasgow, Kentucky to Finis and Lou Birdia Wilkerson, the tenth of eleven children. He was raised in the Barren County community of Austin, was a proud graduate of Austin Tracy High School, and a lifelong member of Mount Olivet Baptist Church. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Murray State University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Upon graduation, Mike moved to Frankfort to work for the Department of Agriculture and ultimately retired from the Division of Shows and Fairs after 30 years of service. He made immeasurable contributions to the field of agriculture, in Kentucky and beyond, particularly on behalf of the dairy industry. His family has fond memories of joining along during his annual assignments working the Kentucky State Fair and North American International Livestock Exposition. In retirement, he enjoyed work on his own small farm in Anderson County where he tended to his cattle, garden and crops. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Maggie Tackett Wilkerson; sons, Layne Wilkerson (Natalie) of Frankfort, Kentucky and Kenny Wilkerson (Courtney) of Lexington, Kentucky; daughter, Jeanne Parrish (Keith) of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky; siblings, Lou Jean Jewell, Orville Wilkerson (Joyce), Evelyn Billingsley (Ray), Jan Groce (Bobby), Donald Wilkerson (Wanda), all of Barren County, Kentucky. He was most proud of his six grandchildren, Margaret, Amelia, Charlotte, Ross, Molly, and Calvin Wilkerson. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Robert, Richard, Hugh and Clifton Wilkerson, and sister, Sandra Wilkerson. Serving as pallbearers will be Tim Wilkerson, Todd Billingsley, Chris Billingsley, Clay Groce, Danny Shipley, Stewart Gritton, Jim Claycomb, and Keith Parrish. Honorary pallbearers are Bruce Groce, Brad Groce, Jeff Wilkerson, Betsy DeKoster, and Cecil Goodlett. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to the Mt. Olivet Cemetery Fund, 1032 Austin Tracy Road, Lucas, Kentucky 42156, or the Cornerstone Church of the Nazarene in Frankfort. Arrangements are under the direction of Harrod Brothers Funeral Home & Crematory.

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Mike Wilkerson

September 22, 1950 - December 26, 2022