H.R. No. 848
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Residents of Corpus Christi lost a remarkable
citizen with the passing of entrepreneur Wilford George Wilcox on
January 18, 2015, at the age of 100; and
WHEREAS, Bill Wilcox was born on May 25, 1914, in Iowa, and he
was introduced to the furniture business at an early age; his
mother's family owned Bekins Moving and Storage, and during the
Great Depression, he sold furniture for the company in its Sioux
City store; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, when he was 39, Mr. Wilcox and his wife,
Marcia, moved with their three children, George, Kaye, and Norman,
to Corpus Christi; a few years later, their fourth child, Ray, was
born; and
WHEREAS, In Corpus Christi, Mr. Wilcox opened his own
furniture store in a 4,000-square-foot Quonset hut with no running
water, and in the beginning, he delivered furniture himself with a
trailer pulled behind his Chevy; within 10 years' time, the
business had grown to employ 40 people and use four delivery trucks,
and by 1995, Wilcox Furniture had expanded to several locations;
Mr. Wilcox ran the company himself until just before his 95th
birthday in 2009, and it continues to be a thriving, family-run
enterprise today, with three locations; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Wilcox became a widower in March 1990, and he
was later fortunate to find love again with Helen Magill, who owned
a rival furniture company; the couple lived together in Trinity
Towers, where on Monday nights, Mr. Wilcox led sing-alongs of old
favorites such as "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Carolina in the
Morning"; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Mr. Wilcox was an engaged and
caring member of his community; in 1970, he helped found and lead
Family Debt Counselors to assist local citizens with debt issues,
and for many years, he provided furniture to the Women's Shelter of
South Texas as well as rocking chairs to local maternity wards; he
also established the Marcia K. Wilcox Scholarship Fund after his
first wife's death, which was formed to enable cancer patients from
Driscoll Children's Hospital to attend college; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of his long life, Bill Wilcox raised
a fine family and built a business that became an institution in
Corpus Christi, and he leaves behind a record of hard work,
integrity, and compassion that will continue to inspire all those
who knew and loved him; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Wilford George
Wilcox and extend sincere condolences to his children, George
Wilcox, Kaye Wilcox West, Norman Wilcox, and Ray Wilcox, and to his
other relatives and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Wilford
George Wilcox.
Herrero
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 848 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 12, 2015.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House