Walter Eugene Wilcox, known to his family & friends as Gene Wilcox passed away on December 26th. He was preceded in death by his mother Rosa Wilcox & his father James Wilcox as well as ten half brothers & sisters who were much older. He is survived by his loving wife, Sharon, five children, Marguerite Norris-Wilcox and son -in-law Harvey Norris of Louisiana, Leigh Anne Auger of Boca Raton, Jeanne Ware and son-in-law Christian Ware, Jim Wilcox, & Kristen Wilcox, who all reside in Tallahassee. He was also blessed with twelve grandchildren and one great grandchild; Ciaran, Savannah, Alex, Kayla, Deaglan, Liam, Gabrielle, Bryannah, Claudia, Aidan, Michael, Matthew and his wife Jordan and their son Silas.
Born in 1938, Gene was from Ethesville, Alabama and was a dire hard Crimson Tide fan. He left Alabama to move to Omaha where he & Sharon resided for twelve years with their children. After leaving Omaha, they spent five years in Macon, Georgia and then he moved to Tallahassee with his family in 1982. He had a passion for construction & built his first house in Tallahassee in 1983 & was still doing what he loved up until his illness.
Before his years in construction, he worked for ConAgra for twenty years, including twelve years at ConAgra's headquarters in Omaha. He had been self employed since 1979 as a builder, developer, & real estate broker. During that time he also ventured out into the restaurant business & opened several Godfather Pizza franchise locations in Georgia & Florida.
Gene was a member of the Tallahassee Optimist Club & was named Optimist of the year in 1993-1994. He also showcased his houses in the Parade of homes and won an award in 2006.
Being a man of faith, he belonged to Good Shepherd Catholic Church where he was on their finance & building committee and at one point played on their softball team.
Gene's Funeral Mass will be at Good Shepherd Catholic Church on Saturday January 6th at 10:00 AM. Family members will be receiving friends on Friday January 5th at Culley's Funeral Home, 700 Timberlane Rd, between 6:00-8:00 PM. The rosary will be said at 7:30 PM. The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Good Shepherd Catholic Church or Big Bend Hospice.
Published in Tallahassee Democrat on Dec. 31, 2017
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