Alumnus honors late wife’s creative legacy with Christmas tree giveaway

Lt. Col. Ralph Wilkinson, second from left, is pictured with (from left) Auburn College of Education's Kelly Buckingham, Jennifer Delmore and Molly McNulty at Tuesday's special Christmas tree giveaway in honor of Ralph's wife, Rosalie.

Lt. Col. Ralph Wilkinson, fourth from the left, is pictured with family members while holding a framed naming resolution for the LTC Ralph and Mrs. Rosalie Wilkinson Makerspace in the new College of Education building.

Lt. Col. Ralph Wilkinson, right, is pictured with Auburn College of Education's Director of Physical Therapy, Dr. Harsimran Baweja, who selected a Christmas treehouse at Tuesday's special event.

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With a smile on his face, happiness in his heart and memories abounding, Lt. Col. Ralph Wilkinson shared the holiday spirit — and his late wife’s legacy — with Auburn College of Education faculty and staff at a special event Tuesday.

The gathering involved Wilkinson offering faculty and staff dozens of one-of-a-kind miniature Christmas trees that his wife, Rosalie, had created through the years.

“She would be thrilled to death about something like this,” Wilkinson said of Rosalie, referring to the Christmas tree giveaway. “I feel the same way. I’m hopeful that with each one of these trees, they (the faculty and staff) will get enjoyment out of them.”

Rosalie, who passed away June 25, 2022, had her artwork featured in East Alabama Magazine, and her many Christmas tree creations — constructed of handmade ornaments and recycled materials — had been displayed during the holiday season at events for the Jan Dempsey Art Center in Auburn.

Rosalie’s passions were art and the Auburn University Marching Band. In addition to honoring her creativity and love of Auburn through the tree giveaway, Tuesday’s event further reflected the Wilkinsons’ enduring spirit of giving in that it very fittingly took place inside the College of Education’s LTC Ralph and Mrs. Rosalie Wilkinson Makerspace — recently named through a philanthropic gift made by Ralph as a tribute to his wife.

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Ralph, who graduated from Auburn with a degree in industrial management and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army in 1957, had seen the Makerspace on a past tour of the new College of Education building. He said he was fascinated by the space’s dedication to creativity and knew right away it was the perfect place to name in honor of his wife.

Originally from Philadelphia, Rosalie came to Auburn when she moved to the city with Ralph. In addition to Christmas trees, Rosalie could turn most any item into a work of art or something useful around the house. One time, Ralph said, she even turned plastic grocery bags into throw rugs. 

When asked about her many Christmas trees, she once said, “I think of each one as more than just a Christmas tree. Each one is like a child, and I appreciate them all.”

Sitting inside the Makerspace named for his wife and seeing the dozens of trees displayed at Tuesday’s event, Ralph noted how he had kept 15 of his wife’s trees and has them prominently displayed in his house. He said he didn’t want the others to simply be stored away, and so Tuesday’s event was his way of furthering the memory of his wife and her abounding joy in making others happy through her unique, heartwarming creations.

“She wanted people to see these trees,” he said. “And she would be so happy and thrilled with this event.”