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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Residents of Corpus Christi lost a remarkable |
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| 6 | 7 | | citizen with the passing of entrepreneur Wilford George Wilcox on |
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| 7 | 8 | | January 18, 2015, at the age of 100; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Bill Wilcox was born on May 25, 1914, in Iowa, and he |
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| 9 | 10 | | was introduced to the furniture business at an early age; his |
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| 10 | 11 | | mother's family owned Bekins Moving and Storage, and during the |
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| 11 | 12 | | Great Depression, he sold furniture for the company in its Sioux |
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| 12 | 13 | | City store; and |
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| 13 | 14 | | WHEREAS, In 1953, when he was 39, Mr. Wilcox and his wife, |
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| 14 | 15 | | Marcia, moved with their three children, George, Kaye, and Norman, |
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| 15 | 16 | | to Corpus Christi; a few years later, their fourth child, Ray, was |
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| 16 | 17 | | born; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, In Corpus Christi, Mr. Wilcox opened his own |
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| 18 | 19 | | furniture store in a 4,000-square-foot Quonset hut with no running |
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| 19 | 20 | | water, and in the beginning, he delivered furniture himself with a |
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| 20 | 21 | | trailer pulled behind his Chevy; within 10 years' time, the |
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| 21 | 22 | | business had grown to employ 40 people and use four delivery trucks, |
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| 22 | 23 | | and by 1995, Wilcox Furniture had expanded to several locations; |
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| 23 | 24 | | Mr. Wilcox ran the company himself until just before his 95th |
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| 24 | 25 | | birthday in 2009, and it continues to be a thriving, family-run |
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| 25 | 26 | | enterprise today, with three locations; and |
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| 26 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Wilcox became a widower in March 1990, and he |
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| 27 | 28 | | was later fortunate to find love again with Helen Magill, who owned |
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| 28 | 29 | | a rival furniture company; the couple lived together in Trinity |
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| 29 | 30 | | Towers, where on Monday nights, Mr. Wilcox led sing-alongs of old |
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| 30 | 31 | | favorites such as "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Carolina in the |
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| 31 | 32 | | Morning"; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Mr. Wilcox was an engaged and |
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| 33 | 34 | | caring member of his community; in 1970, he helped found and lead |
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| 34 | 35 | | Family Debt Counselors to assist local citizens with debt issues, |
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| 35 | 36 | | and for many years, he provided furniture to the Women's Shelter of |
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| 36 | 37 | | South Texas as well as rocking chairs to local maternity wards; he |
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| 37 | 38 | | also established the Marcia K. Wilcox Scholarship Fund after his |
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| 38 | 39 | | first wife's death, which was formed to enable cancer patients from |
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| 39 | 40 | | Driscoll Children's Hospital to attend college; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of his long life, Bill Wilcox raised |
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| 41 | 42 | | a fine family and built a business that became an institution in |
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| 42 | 43 | | Corpus Christi, and he leaves behind a record of hard work, |
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| 43 | 44 | | integrity, and compassion that will continue to inspire all those |
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| 44 | 45 | | who knew and loved him; now, therefore, be it |
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| 45 | 46 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 46 | 47 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Wilford George |
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| 47 | 48 | | Wilcox and extend sincere condolences to his children, George |
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| 48 | 49 | | Wilcox, Kaye Wilcox West, Norman Wilcox, and Ray Wilcox, and to his |
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| 49 | 50 | | other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
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| 50 | 51 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 51 | 52 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 52 | 53 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Wilford |
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| 53 | 54 | | George Wilcox. |
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