Joyce Wilkes

Joyce E. Wilkes age 66 of Paola, passed away Sunday Sept. 28 at the Olathe Medical Center. Funeral Service will be Thursday Oct. 2 at 11:00AM at the Penwell-Gabel Paola Chapel, visitation Wednesday 6 to 7:30PM, burial Paola Cemetery, memorials to the American Lung Association. To leave condolences go to Penwell-Gabel.com Joyce was born April 19, 1942 in Paola Kansas to Frank and Ruby Sweets Dillard Sr.. On February 20, 1960 Joyce was united in marriage to Percy Wilkes in Merriam Kansas. They made their home in Paola where she was a wife and mother raising two children. After her children graduated and left the home, Joyce decided to open a used car dealership, so with the help of Waldo Cox of Pleasanton and the encouragement by her husband she successfully open Wilkes Motors on Baptist Drive in Paola in 1981, later she moved south of town to the old Debrick Truck lines building where the business was still open until her passing. Joyce enjoyed antique shopping, garage sales, fishing, watching football, traveling and especially spending time with the grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Frank and Tommy Dillard, and two sisters Diane Loving and Denise Moore. Survivors are her husband Percy of the home, son Michael and wife Sandra Wilkes and daughter Ruby and husband Thomas Reynolds, 7 grandchildren all of Paola, two brothers, Billy Dillard of Louisburg, Virgil Dillard of Paola and sister Verlene Dillard of Somerset, Kansas.