Ray Abbott Wilcox
Ray Abbott Wilcox, born June 24, 1921, in Minneapolis, MN, passed away Tuesday, March 24, 2020, at his residence in Porterville, CA.
Ray was preceded in death by his loving wife of 54 years Constance Elaine, nee Krahe, Wilcox, and his parents Raymond Anson and Nancy Hazel, nee Abbott, Wilcox. Ray was the only child of their union. He was also preceded in death by two stepdaughters, Mary Alice Moffitt and Patricia Ann Slowic.
Ray is survived by his son Michael A. (Debbie) Wilcox of Porterville, CA; two step-daughters Sherry L. Brown and Billie M. Stockl of Sierra Vista, AZ; a stepson John J. Lincoln of Swansea, IL; a sister-inlaw Karen Daniels of Waldorf, MD; grandchildren Sterling Wilcox, Dylan Wilcox, Cameron Wilcox, Cody Wilson, Nick Wilson, Denise Stohner, Steven Stohner, Paul Brown, Lisa (Robert) Turner, Kary (William) Rhodes, Amber (Paul) Evans, Christine Nelson, Robert Lincoln, and Kimberly Lincoln; numerous great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
In December 1941, Ray was a first-year student at the University of Minnesota, and a stand-out tuba player in the school’s symphony orchestra. Like millions of young men in his generation after Pearl Harbor, Ray volunteered to join the U.S. Navy, where he served until his retirement in 1961 as a tuba player in the U.S. Navy Band, assigned to the U.S. Naval Station, Washington, D.C. During his post-war career with the band, Ray toured the world performing goodwill concerts for heads of State and citizens of dozens and dozens of foreign capitals and other major cities. After retiring from the Navy, Ray worked for several years as a sales manager at a couple of Washington, D.C., area car dealerships, and then back to government service with the Defense Language Institute at the Navy Annex in Washington, D.C., with the Space Management Office in the Pentagon, and with the U.S. Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, Virginia.
Honoring Ray’s request at this time of social distancing, a memorial service is not planned in Porterville, CA. At a date to be determined, Ray’s and Connie’s cremains will be interred at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton, MD.
In lieu of flowers or other memorials, Ray suggested donations to the Tunnels to Towers charity, which provides smart housing and other support for catastrophically injured veterans, fallen first responder families, and Gold Star families.