John Wilcox

Born to Pearl C. Wilcox and Samuel C. Wilcox at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut on February 20,1938. John lived in New Britain and Berlin, Connecticut for many years before retiring to Dummerston, Vermont in 1998.

John married Cynthia Gould on July 16th, 1961 in Lenox MA, where she grew up.

John is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, their daughter Elizabeth G. Stevenson and her husband Malcolm A. Stevenson and their children Aliana and Connor Stevenson of Rockville CT., their son, Stephen H. Wilcox, and his wife Janis M. Wilcox and their children Samuel and Megan Wilcox of Columbia, CT., and their son Andrew P. Wilcox and his wife, Jennifer J. Wilcox and their child Lucas Wilcox of Guilford, VT. He is also survived by his brother-in-law, Roger Martin, of Swanzey, N.H. and by many nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his three sisters, Ann W. Borthwick and her husband, David E. Borthwick and Mary W. Frisbie and her husband, Edward Frisbie, and Judith W. Martin, as well as by many of his beloved cats.

John graduated from Saint Paul's School, Concord, N.H., Trinity College, Hartford, CT, and Duke University Law School, Durham, N.C.

He worked for Connecticut banks as an Estate Settlement Officer, co-owned, with his wife Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop of North Haven, CT., and in his later years worked as an advocate for the elderly in Public Housing.  Also while in Connecticut, he served as the Coordinator of AIDS Project of New Haven and was a founder and director of the AIDS Project of Greater New Britain.

John believed strongly in volunteering in one's community to make it a better place to live. He served in many capacities with charitable organizations. In Vermont, in 2001, he was awarded the Governor's Award for Outstanding Public Service. He and Cindy were jointly recognized for their local volunteerism in June 2003 with Brattleboro’s Community People Award. He served as an officer/director Brattleboro Area Drop in Center for many years and along with Executive Director Melinda Bussino, helped open the first overnight winter shelter. He also served as a Director of the Council on Aging of Southeastern Vermont, AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, and the Dummerston Historical Society as well as Thompson House Nursing Home and Brattleboro Senior Meals. He served as a member of a Reparative Panel in Brattleboro, and as a Guardian-ad-litem for the Windham County Family Court, and the Dummerston Affordable Housing Advisory Commission. John was a member of the boards of the Thompson House, Groundworks Collaborative, the Windham County Humane Society, Dummerston Cares, and Dummerston Community Chest. He was active with the Dummerston Congregational Church as Deacon, Treasurer, Advisor to the Trustees and a Board Member. For some 40 years, he served as a Director and Treasurer of the Wilcox Cemetery of East Berlin, Connecticut, an ancient cemetery founded by an early settling Wilcox ancestor, where he and his wife will be buried.

He was happiest at his home on East Orchard Road with his family, or doing yard work, gardening, or on the phone helping out friends and neighbors.

A memorial service will be held in John’s honor on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at 11 AM at the Dummerston Congregational Church in Dummerston, Vermont.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Groundworks Collaborative, the Windham County Humane Society, Dummerston Cares, or the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont.