Obituary

Kathy Ann Wilkins passed away at home, peacefully, with her family surrounding her, on October 8, 2026. Kathy was the adored wife of Johnny and matriarch to a lineage of strong women. Mother to Jennifer and Rachael, stepmother to Saige, grandmother to Bailey, Gabriella, Juliana, Catherine and Harper, and great-grandmother to Everleigh.

Kathy was born on November 30, 1956, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was the second child of Richard and Irene Vintinner. As the daughter of an airman, she spent much of her youth traveling: living in Germany against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall, taking gym class in the Black Forest, and moving around the US. She graduated from Marshwood High School in Eliot, ME, at 16, in 1972.

Kathy and her first husband, Mark Landry, had two children. After moving to Murfreesboro in 1979, Kathy’s career spanned 30 years at Nissan from 1982 to her retirement in 2012. She was one of the first women hired at the Smyrna plant. At Nissan she met and married her second husband, Johnny Wilkins, with whom she spent her second act, living the life many dream of: traveling, adventuring, and racking up over 150,000 miles on Harleys.

Kathy was an artist who loved life, inspiring all those around her with her tenacious creativity. She was vivacious, charismatic and filled with so much energy that she could run circles around most people, making extremely complex things look easy. Her quilts cover everyone she loved with warmth and beauty.

Kathy treasured her family above all. She was preceded in death by her parents, Irene and Richard Vintinner; her brother, Bruce Vintinner and her first husband, Mark Landry. Kathy is survived by her husband, Johnny; her siblings Karen Lohndorf and husband Joe; Jeff Vintinner; her children: Jennifer (Landry) Cote and husband Nicholas, Rachael (Landry) Young, and Saige (Wilkins)Priddy and husband Parker; her granddaughters, Bailey Lewis and husband Colton, Gabriella Cote, Juliana Cote, and Harper Young; and her great-granddaughter, Everleigh Lewis.

A memorial visitation will be held at Woodfin Memorial Chapel, Murfreesboro on Sunday, October 11, 2026, from 2:00 until 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Larkspur Conservation. https://larkspurconservation.kindful.com/ and an online guestbook is available for the Wilkins family at www.woodfinchapel.com.