Hall of Honor
Elbert Wilkes came to Hendrix by way of Central High School in Little Rock in 1935. Wilkes was a three-sport letterman in football, basketball, and track & field. On the track, he was a two-time Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) track & field champion, winning the 880-relay in 1936 and helping the Warriors to a second-consecutive title in 1937. On the court, he led the Warriors in scoring for the 1935-36 and 1936-37 seasons and was named to the All-AIC First Team. In 1937, Wilkes was named to Coach Ivan Grove’s All-Time Best Basketball Team.
After graduating from Hendrix, he married Mary Jane Archer and went on the receive his medical degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine. He then served as an Army field surgeon in World War II, receiving a Bronze Star on Jan. 5, 1945, for heroic service in combat. Dr. Wilkes continued to save countless lives in over 40 years of private practice as a physician and surgeon, developing innovative procedures especially in the field of reconstructive surgery for burn victims. He served as Chief of Staff of Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
He was a beloved father to Ethel Ann Wilkes Foster and Elizabeth “Libba” Wilkes Harris, grandfather to Betsy Lomas, Hays Patrick, Stuart Harris and Mary-Wilkes Yonchak, and a great-grandfather to seven.
