A legacy of creativity

Lt. Col. Ralph Wilkinson ’57 says his late wife Rosalie could “think in three dimensions.”

Where his training as an engineer and retired U.S. Army officer required thinking in terms of systems and analysis, Ralph says Rosalie thrived in creative spaces. Her intellect, resourcefulness and imagination led to her to projects like creating throw rugs from plastic grocery bags and crafting one-of-a-kind Christmas trees with small trinkets fashioned into ornaments.

A special tour of the new Auburn College of Education building and its new makerspace led Ralph to make a gift to name the creativity hub in honor of his life with Rosalie, who passed away June 25, 2022.

 “She had common sense and a creativity that made her different than anyone else,” Ralph said. “She had an incredible gift for taking ordinary, everyday things and making them beautiful.”

Around the world

Ralph, 91, graduated from Auburn with a degree in industrial management and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army in 1957. His 20-year military career took him across the globe, from Greenland to Okinawa, Vietnam and Thailand.  

But it was in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that Ralph’s life changed forever: he met Rosalie.

He had come back stateside to attend a specialized graduate program for engineer officers at Lehigh University. On an August night out with his neighbor — another transplant living in the area — Ralph saw Rosalie at the hangout.

“It just so happened that the ski club she was part of was having its pre-season meeting there to talk about the upcoming season,” he recalled. “I saw her and thought “I’d like to marry a woman like her.”

Rosalie, a Pennsylvania native, was living in Allentown and working as an assistant to a bank president. After striking up a conversation and a friendship, he asked Rosalie to join him for dinner, and their relationship blossomed from there.

The couple married on May 29, 1964.

Creativity blooms

While Ralph’s world revolved around strategy and systems, Rosalie’s was a canvas of imagination.

Welcoming their son Bryan in January 1966 while living in Okinawa, the couple decided Rosalie would leave the workforce, a practical decision given the evolving nature of a military career.

They enjoyed playing golf together — though Ralph concedes she was a much better golfer than he was and had a standing game with retired admirals every week when they lived in Virginia. The couple also went bowling often and learned to play cards, particularly bridge, which helped them make friends in new cities.

Rosalie embraced crafts, baking, and gardening with boundless enthusiasm. When the couple lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, she filled nearly 300 feet of fence line with flower beds. She found inventive ways to recycle — turning plastic grocery bags into throw rugs — and always kept her hands busy, even on car rides, with scissors and sewing supplies tucked into the glove compartment.

“She always had to be working with her hands,” Ralph says. “If we were going to be in the car for five minutes, she had to have something to work on.”

Her most beloved project, however, was her collection of tabletop Christmas trees. What began as a post-holiday bargain hunt — 35 miniature trees purchased for 25 cents each — evolved into a passion spanning more than 25 years.

Rosalie crafted ornaments from aluminum foil, Styrofoam meat trays, and other trinkets. She scoured thrift shops and craft stores for tiny treasures, and when the holiday season rolled around, she would put the trees in designated spots around their home and reflect on special memories each of them held.

Ralph said at the highest point, she had 180 of the crafted conifers.

"Each one is like a child," Rosalie told East Alabama Living in 2014. "I appreciate each one."

Ralph said she was able to share her festive art both in her home and with the community. By this time, the couple had moved to Auburn, and Rosalie created a showcase of her trees at the Jan Dempsey Arts Center and later at the Woman’s Club of Auburn’s annual Christmas luncheon. She also created displays for residents at local nursing homes.

“If there was a place where other people could see and enjoy the trees, then that’s what she was going to do,” he said.

Sharing the joy

Since Rosalie’s passing in 2022, Ralph has been finding ways to share her spirit and creativity — while continuing the generosity the couple rooted at Auburn University.

They had given philanthropically to the university for nearly 50 years, establishing endowed scholarships the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and Honors College, and endowed funds for excellence supporting the Veteran’s Resource Center, the Auburn University Marching Band (one of Rosalie’s favorite campus traditions), and the College of Nursing (named in honor of Ralph’s mother Katie Mae Wilkinson, who had a long nursing career in Selma).

As the College of Education building was nearing its official opening this fall, Ralph was invited for a tour and got the chance to see the facility’s Makerspace, which feature’s tools like a 3-D printer and Osmo game system that support creativity in learning.

Hearing the staff member speak about the Makerspace and how it can be used, he said he thought immediately of Rosalie. Later that week, he committed to making a philanthropic gift to name the LTC Ralph and Mrs. Rosalie Wilkinson Makerspace as a tribute.

On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the College of Education will host a special event in the Makerspace from 9 a.m. until noon, where faculty and staff in the college can visit the space and take home one of Rosalie’s hand-crafted Christmas trees. Ralph expects to have 60 of the creations for people to choose from and take home.

“These trees made Rosalie very happy, and I get satisfaction out of knowing that somebody else could be enjoying them, instead of them stuck away in a storage box,” he said. “Sharing them with other people would be satisfying for Rosalie too — she always wanted people to see the trees.”