The Pillar of the family, Lois Jean Wiley Wilkins, 80, transitioned into the presence of God on Saturday, April 23, 2022. She was born on August 26, 1941, in Winston-Salem, NC. She was preceded in death by her late husband, Howard F. Wilkins; daughter, Anita Howard; mother, Lugenia Little; father, James Brock Porter; brothers, John L. and Moe Wiley, Bernard and Emmanuel Porter, and Alfonza Thompson; and sisters, Johnnie Mae Moore, Shirley Ann Hines, Iris Nadine Barr, Jacquelyn Brown, Dorothy Ingram, and Gloria Porter.

She grew up in the Boston Projects neighborhood and attended Atkins High school. After her mother's death, she dropped out of school to be a mother figure to her siblings. She dedicated 25 years of service to Piedmont Airlines.

Lois Jean was a phenomenal mother. She was known to many as Mama Lois. She was the cornerstone of her generation, raising and pouring into others. She was a determined and fierce woman who recognized that family is more than a group of persons joined by marriage or blood ties, but rather by spiritual connections. Lois Jean embraced others as if they were her own, and she lived her life as a giver, always putting others before herself.

She leaves behind the loves of her life; her children, Thaddeus and Sydney Wilkins, Pearlie (Allan) Patton, Tammy and Sandra Wilkins; five grandchildren, Latonia Price, Reginald (Rosland) Price, Jr., Sheree' and Aleisha Patton, and Preston McDowell;  great-grandchildren, Talli Price, John Price- Richardson, Troy and Zion Beau Price; brothers, James Durante, Theadore Porter, Felder Lockhart, and Timothy Porter; sisters, Betty (Rueben) Hash, Emma Parham, and Arnita (James) Streater; son-in-law, Lannis Howard; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and close loving friends.

A viewing will be held from 1:00pm until 6:00pm Friday, April 29, 2022 at Russell Funeral Home.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30pm Saturday, April 30, 2022 at Hope Community Church, 4660 Brownsboro Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27106. Interment will follow in Piedmont Memorial Gardens. The family visitation will be held from 1:30pm until 2:30pm on Saturday at the Church. The repast will be held following the interment at Wake Forest University, Wait Chapel, 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27109.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) www.ifcj.org , Save the Children www.savethechildren.org , or the American Heart Association www.heart.org .