Richard Dana Wilcox

Richard Dana Wilcox, 88, of Buchanan, passed away peacefully and suddenly of natural causes at home on Thursday, October 26, 2017. He was born on October 14, 1929 in Buchanan Township at the family home, 901 Terre Coupe Road, son of Charles L. (“Babe”) and Wava B. (Wilson) Wilcox and remained a Buchanan area resident his entire life. He belonged to several local area pioneer settler families.Richard married his high school sweetheart, Beverly Vite, on August 19, 1950 at the Portage Prairie E.U.B. Church and they enjoyed 67 years of a loving marriage. Their first date was March 9, 1946 and they were engaged on March 9, 1950.  On August 19, 2000 they re-enacted their wedding and renewed their vows at the same church with most of their original wedding party participating.  They were blessed with three children.Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Beverly, two daughters, Janice (Rick) Leonard and Joanne (A.J.) Walters, and one son, Wayne, along with two grandsons, Chris (Keiko) and Jon (girlfriend Tammy Griffin) Leonard, two step grandchildren, Tori (Steve) Petersen and Matt (Debi) Leonard, two great grandsons, Eli and Caleb. Five step great grandchildren, Jake, Abbie, Jordan, Aaron, and Connor, also survive as well as a number of nieces, nephews, cousins, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Dale (Donna, surviving) Wilcox and two sisters, Audrey (Lorren) Jewell and Effie Mae (Dick) Tumbleson.Richard counted his family and friends as some of life’s greatest blessings, and he treasured them. Time spent with his family was a priority above all else throughout his life.  While his children were growing up, he spent as much time as possible with them.  The family had fun on a number of “road trip” vacations which are still great memories. Daily, he prayed for his family by name. He illustrated to them what total commitment to faith, family and service to others looked like.  His love of God and family will impact their lives forever. Richard’s mother carried him into the First Evangelical Church as an infant and he continued as an active member, faithful in attendance, his entire life – including the Sunday before he passed. The church was later renamed First Evangelical United Brethren (E.U.B.) Church and eventually Faith United Methodist Church. He served in almost every leadership position in the church over the years, including teaching the B&B class (adult Sunday School) for almost 30 years, teaching the Junior class (pre-teen Sunday School) for a time, and leading a monthly men’s breakfast for 20 years. When the pastor was absent, Richard often filled in to preach.  He became a certified lay speaker in the UMC, speaking at numerous area churches.  He was active in the Lay Witness Mission program and the Emmaus Walk, where he served as table leader more than once. Richard had a close relationship with his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, whom he served after giving his life to Christ at a young age when attending the Evangelical Riverside Camp in Buchanan, with further commitments to his Lord at later intervals of his life. He took his faith seriously, translating it into action and wasn’t shy about sharing his beliefs. Richard attended the Broceus country school near Buchanan through eighth grade, then graduated from Buchanan High School in 1947. He played on the high school football team and was in the FFA program. As a teen, he and his father tried their hand at farming as a “side” business.  Being an avid bookworm, his natural curiosity led him to a lifetime of learning, and challenges.  He was the “go to guy” among family and friends whether it was a Bible question or almost any other subject. He grew into his father’s business, which his father had begun in the 1930’s. As early as age 10, driving the dump truck intrigued him. As the Wilcox Block Company, the fellows made blocks at their block plant, delivering and selling them all over the area.  Later, they renamed the organization “Wilcox Construction Company” and built many buildings, primarily commercial, all around the greater Buchanan area, including Niles, Baroda, etc.  This included a number of churches as well as many other area buildings.  He also built the home where he raised his family and lived for 60 years.  He personally built many beautiful brick or stone fireplaces.  He worked over 50 years in the business, most of those with his father, and brother, Dale.  They always insisted on doing high quality work. Later, he served for a number of years on the Bertrand Township Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), and was consistently thorough and fair. Richard was interested in electronics and Morse code and attained his Amateur Extra Class License, conversing by code to many countries around the world as well as all 50 U.S. states. He belonged to the Redbud Amateur Radio Club and on a few occasions participated in the “field” days.  Later on, he gradually transitioned to communicating more by e-mail, though he maintained his radio license, with “call” letters of WA8LKC. Over his life, he found many hobbies and interests absorbing. An outdoorsman, he owned hunting dogs for many years and hunted rabbits, raccoons, and other small game.  He was a member of the NRA.  He enjoyed fishing, canoeing, and even tried a small sailboat briefly.  He raised a beautiful vegetable garden and helped his “sweetie” with her flower garden for too many moons to count, including digging hundreds of bulbs for her. Richard admired large “over the road” trucks, tractors and other equipment. He attended many tractor shows throughout the region with good friends or family, including Lagrange, Jones, South Haven, Valparaiso, Hesston, River Valley and even one national show in Des Moines, Iowa. He was a capable photographer, and his family found his slides and other pictures very interesting. Working crossword puzzles, watching Western movies on TV and traveling the world via TV shows made his life more engaging. Richard never played an instrument but he loved music – especially “big band” including the Lawrence Welk show, and gospel songs of faith. He loved to play tapes and records of beautiful music and passed on his love of music to his family.  He also had a knack for telling jokes – he could always come up with the perfect song or funny story for any topic. Right up to the end of his life, Richard was very generous and always wanted to help others. Even in advancing age, he drove friends to appointments and did favors for others.  He had given his son a ride the morning that he passed, and he was already making preparations to help a daughter with a project in a couple of weeks.  One of his most common phrases was still – “We’ll help you!” Richard leaves behind a legacy of love, faith and integrity, and he will live on in the hearts of his family and friends forever. As he requested, he has been cremated and there will be a service to remember him and celebrate his life, well lived, on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at Faith United Methodist Church, 728 North Detroit Street, Buchanan, MI   49107 at 3:00 with visitation from 1:00-3:00 at the church.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made either to Faith United Methodist Church memorial fund or to Lowell & Claudia Wertz, missionaries in Africa c/o the Faith United Methodist Church at the above address.  To leave a condolence message or sign his guest book please visit www.swemchapel.com.