Friends, colleagues remember Judge Andrew Wilkinson

Husband. Father. Friend. Coach. A local resident who wanted to be a judge, to serve his community.

Andrew "Drew" Fisher Wilkinson was all of those things.

Retired Circuit Judge Fred C. Wright III saw leadership traits in Wilkinson early on.

Wilkinson had been a law clerk for Wright, and when Wilkinson put on the robes himself in 2020, he credited Wright with guiding his career.

Wright told The Herald-Mail this week that he had been struck by the young man's "love of the law."

"He was very young; he was outstanding," Wright said. But even at that age, "you see the qualities he had as a person; his love of life and the practice of law," Wright added.

Wilkinson, 52, died Oct. 19 after he was shot in his driveway north of Hagerstown. The suspect, found deceased Thursday, was a party in a divorce and custody case Wilkinson oversaw.

Wilkinson's funeral was Friday at St. Ann Catholic Church in Hagerstown's North End.

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He is survived by his wife, Stephanie; children Caroline and Grant; brother, John S. Wilkinson, and sister-in-law, Crystal.

'He is irreplaceable'

In phone interviews this week, colleagues and friends shared their thoughts about Wilkinson and his service to the community.

"He has a passion for everything he did," including the law, his family and the community, said former Washington County government attorney John Martirano.

Martirano hired Wilkinson to be an assistant county attorney, and they worked together from 2006 to 2012. While Wilkinson had a passion and a drive, he was always "even-keeled" in meetings, Martirano said.

In his obituary, his family said: "There are no words to describe the amazing husband and father Drew was. He is irreplaceable."

They wrote that Wilkinson's "greatest joy was spending time with his family and close friends. He enjoyed family vacations, world travel, camping, boating, surf fishing, and college sports."

Martirano said he and Wilkinson would talk about their children, coaching and college sports. Wilkinson, a 1994 graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was a Tar Heels fan and proud of his alma mater.

Rudy Krumpe, president of the Hagerstown Soccer Club, called Wilkinson a "good man."

When Wilkinson was coaching his daughter's soccer team, Krumpe said, he would run with the girls during their warmups.

"The girls loved him. Just a nice attitude with the kids. A nice manner ... ." Krumpe said. "Very calm and just a good person."

Wilkinson coached soccer for 13 years through the club and YMCA (HAYSL), as well as basketball and youth lacrosse, according to his obituary.

Hagerstown YMCA CEO Maria Rubeling said Wilkinson was instrumental in helping to bring the Y's and HAYSL's soccer programs together for a time.

"He saw a lot of value in community organizations working together," Rubeling said. "It was all about the kids for him."

The Y was one of the organizations for which Wilkinson served as a board member, in this case from 2011 to 2017. He also was the Y's attorney until he became a judge.

Rubeling was among those who submitted letters recommending Wilkinson for the judgeship.

"His mark on this organization ... is indelible," Rubeling said. Wilkinson was "so sincere and so smart" in his approach, doing everything ethically and helping to set up policies and procedures to set the Y on a "good foundation for the future."

Nurturing a love of the law

Wilkinson was born in Guam, the son of the late Navy Cmdr. Jay H. Wilkinson and Elizabeth (Fisher) Eberts, his obituary states. Part of a military family, they moved around, which led Wilkinson also spending time in Thailand and Puerto Rico.

Wright met Wilkinson around 1983 when he hired Wilkinson's mom as a law clerk. The future judge was 12 years old.

Wilkinson has said that is when Hagerstown became his home.

He graduated in 1989 from Mercersburg Academy, a private boarding school about a half hour northwest of Hagerstown, in Pennsylvania. After UNC, Wilkinson graduated in 1997 from Emory University School of Law.

His first job after that was as a clerk, working with several judges in the courthouse where he would later serve as judge.

"We chatted a lot about what goes into being a judge," Wright said, and Wilkinson purposely followed a path that would lead him to the bench.

"His capacity to grasp the nuances of things; his sense of fairness" served him well on that path, Wright said.

And while Wilkinson regarded Wright as his guide, Wright said "I think he was influenced by a lot of people. I hope that I was a part of that."

Wright said he was "not at all surprised" when former Gov. Larry Hogan appointed Wilkinson to the bench.

Attorney Brian Hutchison, who has worked as a prosecutor, public defender and private attorney, said he knew Wilkinson for 25 years and referred some work Wilkinson's way shortly after Wilkinson finished his clerkship.

"His honor was an excellent lawyer, an outstanding judge and an even more wonderful person," Hutchison said.

Wilkinson bookended his time in the county attorney's office with work in private practice. First he became an associate and later partner in the firm Barton, Williams & Wilkinson, according to his obituary.

After his time with the county, he had a private practice with land-use attorney Jason Divelbiss.

David Harbin, a private attorney and president of the Washington County Bar Association, said he was "fortunate to be on the Judicial Nominating Commission" that sent Wilkinson's name to Gov. Larry Hogan's office in late 2019 for consideration for the judgeship.

Submitting Wilkinson's name was an easy decision, Harbin said.

"He was everything you would want in a circuit court judge. He was straight out of central casting," Harbin said.

"He was thoughtful in his rulings.

"I felt like when I was in front of him, that he was genuinely listening to me and curious about my arguments," Harbin continued. "I always felt as if I had a fair hearing in front of him.

"Off the bench, he was a wonderful human being," Harbin said.

A natural on the bench

County State's Attorney Gina Cirincion wrote in an email that Wilkinson "was an example of what every judge should be — kind to all, considerate and fair, wise, prepared yet willing to learn.

"He was respectful to all who appeared before him. Even if he ruled against you, you knew that he thoroughly considered the issue or issues, and his decisions were always sound. I was always happy to be in his courtroom. The loss to the legal community is tremendous. I cannot imagine the grief of his family and friends," Cirincion said.

Angela Oetting, district public defender for Washington and Frederick counties, said in an email that Wilkinson "treated us and our clients with dignity and respect. He will be greatly missed."

Washington County Commissioners' President John Barr described Wilkinson as "just a stand-up individual. He was the most professional, kind, considerate individual that I know. He was compassionate and he loved his job."

Barr added that Wilkinson was a devoted family man. “He was a genuinely wonderful person. They don’t make them like that anymore.”

Wilkinson was smart, well-read and articulate, Barr said, and made good decisions. He'll remember Wilkinson’s “forthrightness,” and that he “always had a smile."

Wilkinson had served as assistant county attorney during two of Barr's terms on the commissioners board, he said, and Wilkinson had become a personal friend. His death, Barr said, "is like a nightmare you can’t wake up from … words can’t express the sorrow."

Judge Wright's son, Christian, counted Wilkinson as a personal friend. "We're in a much worse place without him," Christian Wright said. "I just pray for his wife and family. It's devastating. He's gonna be missed."

Washington County Attorney Kirk Downey worked with Wilkinson for six years in the county attorney's office. They'd known each other a long time, Downey said. Their careers had paralleled.

"Drew was always pleasant," Downey said. "He was good to work with whether in the county attorney's office or elsewhere.

"He was easygoing, he was respectful, down to earth. He had common sense. And he was a really good friend."

Downey said he would remember how pleasant Wilkinson was.

"He had a good personality and a good sense of humor. And he obviously cared about his family very much. As an attorney, he was confident and prepared. He could get to the actual legal issue before him and resolve a legal problem with skill and without drama," Downey said. "And that's always refreshing.

"I'm gonna miss him and the contributions he made to the community, and the contributions he would have made in the future."

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Friends and colleagues share reflections of Judge Andrew Wilkinson