ASHLEY RAPPLEYEA/ Scrolll
Pres. and Sis. Wilkes quietly wait for the start of the dedication of the Thomas E. Ricks Building Feb. 18, 2005.

President Wilkes pays tribute to women in his life

by Erin Zane ZAN04001@BYUI.EDU Religion Asst. Editor

It was a mother to whom, Abraham Lincoln said, he owed his successes. It was a mother the Savior was most concerned about on the cross. It is a mother from whom President Robert Wilkes finds his strength.

After having children and grandchildren of his own, President Wilkes still talks to his mother, Lucy, on a daily basis.

Sister Lucy Wilkes lives in Afton, Wyo., the same country town where President Wilkes was born and raised. It was there that President Wilkes learned the value of hard work on their family’s farm, where he went to school and where his mother’s influence increased his faith.

“I have always known what [my mother] expected me to do, and because of my love for her, I always wanted to please her,” President Wilkes said.

Because of this love, President Wilkes admits he made a lot of decisions based on what he thought would make her happy.

After over half a century, President Wilkes still takes strength from his mother. “I just know what to do in great measure because of her influence,” President Wilkes said.

Lucy recalls how ambitious, happy and helpful her son was, even as a child.

“Bob was always willing to do everything and anything around the house. He was always there for us when we needed him, and he still is,” Lucy said.

As Bob was the oldest, Lucy explains she and he were growing up together. Lucy claims she didn’t know how to be a mother, but her insights in parenthood reveal the contrary.

The single most important aspect to remember as mothers is to stay close to your children, Lucy said. “Be there for them when they need you... Make it so that they will feel comfortable to share their problems, their joys, their successes with you.”

Lucy feels her daughter-in-law, Sister Estella Wilkes, is the personification of a mother. “I’ve always told Bob, ‘you are so lucky to have someone like Estella,’” Lucy said.

President and Sister Wilkes feel an education enhances women’s abilities in whatever their sphere of influence. It is their wish that each young woman would have the opportunity to expand her knowledge and develop her talents and creative processes.

“We all understand the priority the gospel gives to mothers and families, but the more educated a woman becomes, the more capacity she develops,” President Wilkes said. “It’s getting all you can of education and experience then coupling that with every other experience in life in addition to being a wife and mother.”

“Whatever education you get will bless and benefit your life, your family and the Church,” Sister Wilkes said. President Wilkes noted that education enables women to serve others, but it enriches their lives as well.

“Being able to listen to a piece of music in a way that you could not do without your educational background; to be able to understand something of the world of finances and business becomes a very personally enriching thing. [Education] always contributes to what happens to you as an individual son or daughter of our Heavenly Father,” President Wilkes said.

Lucy is most proud of her son for always staying close to gospel principles. Not surprisingly, that is the counsel President and Sister Wilkes give to students. “Remember who you are,” Sister Wilkes said.

“Learn to keep covenants and commitments. Discover as quickly as you can that most of the wonderful things that occur in your life will be things that you’ve created or enabled...to happen,” President Wilkes said.

Just as they love their mothers, President and Sister Wilkes appreciate the mothers of BYU-Idaho students.

“Most of the credit [BYU-I receives] about how our students turn out belongs to their mothers and fathers. It is easy to produce such good graduates when we receive such good freshmen. We value the contribution parents make with what happens to students while they’re here. It’s overwhelmingly good and positive,” President Wilkes said.