Albert E. Wilkerson | Temple professor, 82

Posted: June 14, 2010

Albert E. Wilkerson of Fairmount, a professor emeritus at Temple University, died of heart failure at the Visiting Nurses Association Hospice in Philadelphia on Monday, June 7, a day after his 82d birthday.

Dr. Wilkerson retired in the mid-1990s after 25 years as a professor of social work at Temple. For 10 years he was associate dean of Temple's School of Social Work. He also taught graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the author of The Rights of Children: Emergent Concepts in Law and Society.

A native of Durham, N.C., Dr. Wilkerson earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in divinity from the former Crozer Theological Seminary. He was ordained and served in the early 1960s as an associate minister of a Baptist church in Rochester, N.Y.

After changing career paths, Dr. Wilkerson earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Buffalo and a doctorate in social work from Penn.

In recent years he an active member of St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Church in Northern Liberties, serving on the church council and as a trustee. He volunteered in a program to help immigrants become naturalized citizens.

Dr. Wilkerson enjoyed collecting antiques and researching the history of the British royal family.

He is survived by a sister, Ruth W. Johnson, and nephews Ronald and Kenneth Johnson.

A service was private.

Memorial donations may be made to the Animal Protection Society of Durham, 2117 E. Club Blvd., Durham, N.C. 27704.