Richard
Frank Wilcox Sr. (Dick) was born in Ohio on June 3, 1918.
He
enlisted Air Corps 12 June 1942; at the time of his
enlistment he was married and had a child on the way.
By August 1943 they had two children, a son, Richard,
Jr. and a daughter Patsy.
While
away at war Dick’s wife abandon the children.
It is said that she placed them in an orphanage and
that he had to return to the US and find someone to
care for them. As you can image they were quite young
children then. Dick found a secretary, Kathryn Sampson,
he had known at Lockbourne Army Air Field who offered
to care for the children so that he could return to
the war. Sometime after the war the two were married
and raised the children together.
Upon returning from the war Dick and Katie resided in
Ashville, Ohio. They never had any children together,
but Katie was certainly “Mom” to Dick’s
two children.
Dick worked for or owned a tree trimming, pruning, topping
business. Later he went to work for Columbus and Southern
Electric Company and retired from there in the late
70’s.
Dick enjoyed gardening (especially working with trees),
coin collecting, and he had a large saltwater aquarium
he liked to tend to. After retirement, fishing became
a winter thing for him. Dick and Katie would go down
near Naples, Florida every winter and Dick would fish
all day. They continued this until his health did not
permit him to go.
Fortunately, Dick lived long enough to know his 7 grandchildren,
and got to know and see two of his great-grandchildren,
even though they were quite young when he passed away.
Here are the grandkids:
Debra Lyn Wilcox – Crouch, of Navarre, Florida
James Richard Wilcox, USAF, TSgt, Langley AFB, VA
Vicky Crumley – Smith, of Canal Winchester, OH
Richard Crumley, last known to be in North Carolina
Ronald Crumley, of Ashville, OH
Christina Cookson, of Ohio
Charles Cookson, of Ashville, OH
All that remains living of Richard F. Wilcox Sr.’s
family is grandchildren and great-grandchildren (roughly
10).
F/O
Richard Frank Wilcox, Sr. passed away on June
12, 1983 from some form of cancer related to asbestos
exposure. He is buried at Reber Hill Cemetery
in Ashville, Ohio; As far his wife, Kathryn, and
daughter, Patsy. His son, Richard Jr. is buried
in Forrest Cemetery in Circleville, OH. |
On
2-2-46 Dick wrote Mrs. Helen Davenport, widow
of William T, his Right Gunner, with the circumstances
and events minutes before they ditched their B-29.
Click here
to read. |
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