John Grant Wilkins

John was born on May 8, 1939 in Short Hills, NJ, the son of Margaret Hart Wilkins and Eugene Grant Wilkins. After graduating from Millburn High School, John went to Dartmouth College where he studied Economics and was in Alpha Phi Omega, the fraternity upon which the movie Animal House was based.

After earning his degree, John returned to New Jersey to attend Rutgers. He married Ann Starr Basinger and was hired by the Treasury Department, based on his dissertation. He had a long and distinguished career in federal service as a Charter member of the Senior Executive Service, testifying before Congress numerous times, representing the US in the OECD, contributing to numerous tax reforms, earning the Treasury Exceptional Service Award, and finally rising to the position of Acting Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in 1989 — the only economist appointed to that position. He then joined Coopers & Lybrand (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) as a Partner and Director of their National Economics Consulting until his retirement in 1999, whereupon he formed the Barcroft Consulting Group.

John loved to travel, was active in the Lake Barcroft community, played tennis, was a member of the Cosmos Club, and was the person everyone went to for advice.

John was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Jocelyn Wilks. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Ann Wilkins, his son James (Kim) of Falls Church, daughter Amy (Adam) Kress of Arlington, 5 grandsons, Berkeley and Quincy Wilkins, Matthew, Peter, and John Kress, and one granddaughter, Paisley Wilkins, his brothers-in-law, James (Donna) Basinger and John Basinger and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at The Falls Church Anglican at 6565 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA, 22042. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Amyloidosis Foundation at amyloidosis.org.