Mary Katherine Planck Gilkerson, 99, widow of Luther Charles Gilkerson, died Sunday, February 12, 2017 at Bourbon Community Hospital. She was born September 28, 1917 in Fleming County, daughter of the late Nona Pearl Jones Planck and Harrison Levi Planck. Her mother died when Mary Katherine was 15 months old and her father remarried Ida Mae Johnson-Planck.
Mary Katherine married her soulmate, Luther Charles Gilkerson, on June 9, 1934 and started her family with her two children, Deloris and Marvin. They left Fleming County and resided in Woodford and Fayette Counties until 1950 when they moved to Bourbon County. She was a homemaker and loved babies and sat with many over the years, while parents worked or played. She was educated in rural Fleming County Schools (one being a one room school that sat behind the Goddard Bridge). She was a gracious sweet little lady, but with a strong hand in disciplining her children. She kept a spotless home and took pride in how she and her family looked. She loved pretty clothes and jewelry and modeled them well. When younger and her vision wasn’t impaired, she loved to quilt, embroidery, and sew. In her teens, friends have informed the family that she was noted as being the “Walking Doll of Fleming County”. Her genes and God have been good to her most of her life. She was the hub of the family wheel. The void of her life will be everlasting.
Mary Katherine is survived by her son, Marvin Dean (Faredonia) Gilkerson; her daughter, Deloris Gilkerson (Bobby, deceased) Brooks; two grandchildren, Stephanie Deane Gilkerson (Greg) Dotson, Marvin Anthony (Angie) Gilkerson; foster granddaughter, Anna Frances Donoho; great grandchildren, Emily Taylor Dotson, Shelby Page Gilkerson, Olivia Nicole Dotson; foster grandchild, Melissa Holt; sisters, Judy Planck Anderson, Betty Jean Planck Perkins; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by siblings, Bessie Lee Planck Gilkerson, Elmer Roscoe Planck Johnny Planck, James Planck, Lucille Planck Ishmael, Lena Planck Ervin, Amos Planck, Elbert Planck, Martha Planck Hardin, and Nona Mae Johnson.
Visitation will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 17, at Hinton-Turner Funeral Home followed by a service at 1:00 p.m. by Rev. Charles H. Kemp. Burial will be in Evergreen Memory Gardens. Casket bearers will be Marvin Dean Gilkerson, Larry Ishmael, Charles Wayne Ishmael, Linn Planck, Wayne Kendall, Mike Kendall, Gary Kendall, Kenneth Keene Kendall, Greg Gilkerson, Douglas “Dougie” Gilkerson, Harold Gilkerson, and Darrell Gilkerson. Honorary bearers will be Dr. Ray Young, Dr. Nathan Moore, Dr. Woodford VanMeter, Albert “Al” Gilkerson, Bobby Allen Flynn, Wayne Fannin, Debbie Butler, Raymond Gilkerson, Joyce Dean, Sharon Lunsford, Ruby Whitaker, Beth Bradford, Mabel Leet, and the nursing staff at Bourbon Heights, Inc. Memorials are suggested to Bourbon Heights Inc. Activity Fund, 2000 South Main Street, Paris, KY 40361 or Clintonville Christian Church, 141 Austerlitz Road, Paris, KY 40361.