Curtis R. Wilkerson was born on January 30, 1926 near Fordland, Missouri and passed away on March 2, 2010 after a near decade long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. He was a resident of the Missouri Veterans' Home in Mount Vernon, Missouri. He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Romalee, of Rogersville, MO; a brother Harvey and wife Rena of Rogersville; two sons; Scott and wife Cindy of Lebanon, MO, and Randy and his wife Denise of Rogersville, MO. Survivors also include several nephews and nieces. Most importantly, Curtis enjoyed his wonderful grandchildren Justin, Ryan and Lindsey. Like many others, he was a child of the Great Depression and learned from a young age about the values and character created by hard rural work. After graduating from high school in Fordland, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Europe during WWII and became a highly decorated soldier earning the Purple Heart among other distinguished medals and awards. After returning from the army, Curtis attended MSU earning his teaching certification in history and English. He started his career as a teacher at Dutch Hill, a one-room schoolhouse in Webster County and later taught at Study School in Springfield, Missouri. After enjoying and thriving in his teaching experience, he attended Missouri University where he completed a graduate degree program in school administration and soon became principal at Study School. While serving as an educator, he was always involved in civic organizations including the West Side Optimist Club, Boys Club, Scouting, Lions Club and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. In 1970, he was selected to become the first principal of Kickapoo High School where he served until his retirement in 1980. Following his thirty years of service as an educator, he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives where he served the citizens of south Springfield as a State Representative until 1988. He served on many committees while in Jefferson City including Agri Business, Banks and Finance and Elementary and Secondary Education. He truly believed in the citizen legislator and promoted legislation restricting the length of time an individual could hold one office. Even after his retirement, he enjoyed public speaking, which included traveling the area discussing the merits of term limits. In addition to his career in education and public service, he loved the family farm and enjoyed sharing the rural life. He raised beef cattle for many years and was active in agriculture for most of his life. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 5, 2010 in Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday. Burial will be at White Oak Cemetery, Rogersville, MO. The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to the wonderful staff at the Missouri Veterans' Home in Mount Vernon, Missouri for their outstanding care and excellence. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Springfield, Missouri.