FERRIDAY, La. &045; Friends and family of a woman who died Sunday while helping save two family members from her burning home said Tuesday that thinking of others first was just like Carolyn Wilkinson.

Wilkinson, 42, died when her mobile home on Shady Acres Road near Ferriday caught fire Sunday afternoon.

Wilkinson helped sister-in-law Loretta Belle Wilson get Wilkinson’s disabled son, 27-year-old Johnny Wilkinson Jr., out of the mobile home, but didn’t make it out in time, according to the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

&uot;A compassionate, loving, caring person to her friends and family Š that was Carolyn,&uot; said Cheryl &uot;Snooky&uot; Mulvihill of Vidalia, a good friend of Wilkinson’s since they were teenagers.

Bunnie Moreno, Wilkinson’s sister-in-law, said she will remember Wilkinson most as a person who was dedicated to her own children’s welfare and loved children in general.

Wilkinson was the mother of two daughters as well as a son who is physically and developmentally disabled, Mulvihill said.

In addition, Wilkinson was active as a member of Riverside Baptist Church, which she joined in 1991 and brought her children to every Sunday.

&uot;A lot of people just send their children (to church), but she brought them herself,&uot; said the Rev. Glen Harrigill, pastor of Riverside.

She was a Sunday school teacher and a member of Women of Worship, a women’s circle and mission outreach group that met at Riverside once a week.

&uot;She loved the Lord,&uot; Mulvihill said.

But Wilkinson went beyond such roles, taking on other ministry roles as there was a need.

Both Mulvihill and Harrigill recalled that Wilkinson was one of a group of church members who &uot;adopted&uot; local nursing home residents.

Wilkinson didn’t just visit the nursing home resident she adopted, however. Instead, she brought him to church with her every day &045; something he couldn’t easily do otherwise, since he was blind.

Mulvihill also recalled that she and Wilkinson took nursing home residents on outings such as picnics and to the circus in Monroe.

That was also Wilkinson, Mulvihill said &045; someone who took her duties seriously but was also outgoing and fun.

And above all, she loved others, her friends said. &uot;She always tried to help folks,&uot; Harrigill said.

Services will be at 10 a.m. today at Young’s Funeral Home in Ferriday.