Betty Lou Wilcox
Betty Lou Wilcox, 81, North Manchester, passed away on Aug. 13, 2018, at Peabody Retirement Community, North Manchester.
She was born on Feb. 15, 1937, to Edson and Dorothy (Ludwig) Carroll in Huntington.
After graduating from Urbana High School in 1955, Betty graduated from St. Joseph Hospital of Nursing in 1958. She married the love of her life Ernest Wilcox Jr. on Aug. 23, 1958. Together, the Wilcox’s started out their new life together in Fort Sill, Okla. since Mr. Wilcox was in the Army at that time. If it wasn’t scrubbing for an O.R. Doctor, she would give 7-year-old boys and girls their weekly allergy shots or draw their blood in the lab and did it with commitment, compassion, and love.
Before retiring in 1990, she worked as an RN at the Wabash County Hospital then the Manchester Clinic. She was a farm wife and homemaker. She was Ernest’s farm hand – from running equipment, shelling corn, bailing hay, and caring for animals. As a member of the St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church. Church life was an important part of Betty Wilcox’s life. She helped with funeral dinners and taught Sunday school. She was also a part of the St. Robert Rosary Sodality. She was a Red Cross volunteer and an advocate for Right to Life. She believed in life from the point of conception. In her free time, Betty loved sewing clothes for Barbie’s. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.
Betty Wilcox will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Ernest Wilcox, North Manchester; one son David (Traci) Wilcox, North Manchester; two daughters: Teresa (Dan) Flora, North Manchester; and Christine Marie (Robert) Warner, Sarasota, Fla.; one brother Robert (Ann) Carroll, North Manchester; eight grandchildren: Jaime (Chadd) Keaffaber, North Manchester; Lydia (Kenny) Young, Plainfield, Indiana, Maria (Greg) Whitaker, Clayton, Indiana, Amelia (Joe) Bradley, North Manchester, Indiana, Gabrielle Wilcox, North Manchester; Branden Wilcox, North Manchester; Felicity Warner, Boston, Mass.; Austen Warner, Sarasota, Fla.; and nine great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 17, at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 1203 State Road 114 East, North Manchester. Friends and family may call from 2-8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 16, at McKee Mortuary, 1401 State Road 114 West, North Manchester. A Rosary service will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16, at McKee Mortuary. Father Andrew Curry will officiate and burial will be at Fairview Cemetery, Servia. Arrangements are in the care of McKee Mortuary, North Manchester.
For those who wish to honor the memory of Betty Lou Wilcox, memorial contributions may be made to St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 1203 State Road 114 East, North Manchester, IN 46962 or Alzheimer’s Association 50 East 91 Street, Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46240.
She was a firm believer that life began at conception and did not end until God called for your last breath. That is why she is the greatest mother her children could ever have.