Dugan Wilkinson was born in Auburn, Nebraska on February 16, 1916.  He grew up on a farm located north of Humboldt, Nebraska, and began farming himself after graduating from high school.  He married Mildred Mehlin May 14, 1941.  Dugan and Mildred continued to farm the same farm where Dugan grew up until 1946 when Dugan, Mildred, and their son, Gregg, moved to Fort Collins, Colorado so Dugan could attend Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University) and major in Civil Engineering. While in college, Dugan worked many jobs to support his family including working for the Mayflower Moving Company and Forney Industries.  Their daughter, Greta, was born July 7, 1947.

Dugan graduated from Colorado A&M in 1950 with a degree in Civil Engineering.  Following graduation, Dugan worked briefly for both the Bureau of Reclamation and the Soil Conservation Service.  Their second son, Eric, was born January 12, 1951.  In May, 1951, Dugan was appointed as Water Commissioner for the Cache la Poudre River, a position he held until June 30, 1969.  On March 14, 1958, Dugan and Mildred’s second daughter, Krispin, was born. 

On July 1, 1969, Dugan was appointed Division I Engineer at the same time the Colorado State Engineer moved the Division I Office from Denver to Greeley.  Dugan served as Division Engineer until May, 1978, when he retired with 27 years of service to the Colorado Division of Water Resources.  Dugan passed away on May 19, 1981.