Rev. Joseph Wilcox

The Rev. Joseph M. Wilcox, retired minister, was born on September 23rd, 1923, and passed away peacefully on Oct. 18th, 2014.

Joseph Marquis Wilcox was born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio, the youngest son of J. Dale and Edith House Wilcox.

Joe graduated from Mansfield Senior High School in 1941. He entered Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky, in September of 1942. He majored in philosophy and graduated in December of 1945. While he was a student at Transylvania College, he met Emily Rees Marsh and in their senior year they became engaged.

Joe had decided to become a Christian minister and was accepted at Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in Oberlin, Ohio, in January of 1946, where he received his Bachelor of Divinity degree. On May 4, 1946 Rees and Joe were married at the Seminary Chapel, in Oberlin, Ohio. They have thee children, Emily, Amy, and Joseph.

After graduating from seminary in 1949, Joe served as youth pastor at Walnut Hills Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1952 Joseph moved to be pastor at First Christian Church in Bellaire, Ohio. From Bellaire he moved to Parma, Ohio, in 1955, where he served as the pastor of Parma Christian Church. He served there for 7 years and then moved to Waukegan, IL, where he became pastor of First Christian Church for twelve years. He was an active member of the Chicago Area Disciple's regional fellowship.

In 1974 he resigned as pastor of First Christian Church and began a course of study in hospital chaplaincy training at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. In June of 1975 he received his Chaplain's Certificate. He was then invited to be the first full-time chaplain at Westlake Community Hospital in Melrose Park, IL. He served for twelve and a half years at Westlake Hospital, where he worked with the administration and assisted in hiring other chaplains to serve on the staff. For nine years he was a chaplain at Winchester House in Libertyville, IL.

In the years following his hospital ministry he returned to Gurnee and served as a minister at Gurnee Community Church for 3 years. At the close of his third year in Gurnee, the congregation named him pastor-emeritus.

He is survived by his wife, Rees, their three children - Emily Wilcox Denesha (Mike), Amy Wilcox-Owens (Rick), Joseph Dale Wilcox (Jean), seven grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and his sister, Eleanor Wilcox Lime of North Oaks, MN. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother, John David Wilcox.

In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to a local hospice or a charity of your choice.

A memorial service will be held at the Gurnee Community Church, 4555 Old Grand Ave., Gurnee, IL, on Saturday, October 25th at 12:00 PM. Visitation will be before the service from 11:00 AM until 12:00 PM. Luncheon to follow in the church's family life center.