David Lawrence Wilkinson
December 6, 1936 — December 10, 2022
David Lawrence Wilkinson died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, December 10th, 2022 in Provo, Utah. He was born on December 6th, 1936, in Washington, D. C. to Ernest Leroy and Alice Ludlow Wilkinson. For most of his childhood, David grew up in Washington, D.C., until his family moved to Provo in 1951. He served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1957-1959 in the East German Mission. David received degrees from Brigham Young, Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of California at Berkeley. He practiced law in California, Utah, and Washington, D.C., and served two terms as the Attorney General of Utah (1981-1989).
David met Tricia Thomas in the summer of 1976, and they married in the Salt Lake Temple in December. They were foster parents to two teenagers and subsequently had four children, whom they raised in Utah and Northern Virginia.
His family will remember him most for his curiosity and love of learning, his gift of conversation, and his witty sense of humor. He loved researching family history, reading the newspaper, ice cream, tennis, and BYU football. His children describe him as a wonderful father who supported them in their varied interests.
He is survived by his wife, Tricia, his four children, Andrew (Brooke), Samuel (Sara), Margaret (Tyler Cloutier), and Katherine (Frank Bright), his sister, Alice Anderson, and seventeen grandchildren: Anne, William, Caroline, Charles, Jane, Emma, Andrew; Rosemary, Elizabeth, Isaac, John “Jack,” Elijah; Bridget, Molly; Holly, Amelia, and Samantha. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Ernest, Marian Jensen, and Douglas.
Visitations will be held on Thursday, December 15th from 7-8pm at Berg Mortuary in Provo and on Friday, December 16th at 9:30am at the Oaks Hills 6th Ward Chapel 1960 N 1500 E, in Provo. Funeral services will follow at 11:00am in the Chapel.