Gloria McBroom Wilkerson

In Loving Memory of Gloria Wilkerson

September 16, 1950 – July 12, 2025

Gloria Wilkerson (née McBroom), 74, of Durham, North Carolina passed away peacefully surrounded by family on July 12, 2025. She was born on September 16, 1950, in Winston Salem, North Carolina, to a family she knew little about. Adopted and raised by the loving Lorena and Dewitt McBroom, she grew up an only child. What Gloria lacked in siblings, she made up for in cousins, who were as thick as thieves, with Gloria often playing ringleader.

At the ripe age of 70—amid the chaos of a global pandemic—Gloria discovered her biological family. Born to Elmer Lee Payne and Cindy Marie Butcher of Surry County, NC, she was the youngest of seven siblings, and the only one who was adopted from the orphanage in Oxford, NC. Leave it to Gloria to make a dramatic entrance into her own backstory.

Gloria grew up in Rougemont, NC in a farmhouse with no indoor plumbing, helping her family work the farm from an early age. Married twice before getting it right, she met her husband, Victor Wilkerson, on a flight from RDU to Atlanta in 1979. She grew her bookkeeping business to include illustrious clients such as Georgia Kyser (wife of the world-famous Big Band leader, Kay Kyser, and a famous actress and model in her own right), Gene Devine (owner of the Duke institution, Devine's), and Mary Turner Lane (founder of the Women’s Studies Program at UNC).

She was the kind of person who could turn a stranger into a friend in under five minutes. Grocery store lines, waiting rooms, elevators, you name it. An avid dancer in her earlier years – you could often find her shagging on dance floors around town. Gloria was an excellent story teller – and she had many to tell – but she was an even better listener, making sure she understood every last detail.

Gloria is survived by her husband Victor Wilkerson, with whom she shared nearly 45 years of marriage; and her daughter Sarah, who inherited her mother’s love of music, animals, and care for detail. She also leaves behind a son-in-law, Alex, with whom she shared a love of tennis, and of course, Sarah.

Gloria’s absence will be felt by so many. But she leaves a legacy of love, of connection, of never meeting a stranger, and of discovering who you are, even if it takes you seventy years.

So raise a glass, play some Prince, and tell a stranger your life story in honor of Gloria. She would’ve wanted it that way.

A Memorial and Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 16 at 12:00 p.m. at All Saints Church in Hillsborough. A small gathering will follow from 1:00pm –3:00 p.m. at The Colonial Inn: 153 W King St, Hillsborough, NC 27278, where friends and family are invited to sit, share stories, view photos, and enjoy light refreshments.