Betty Lou (Carroll) Wilcox

Betty Lou Wilcox, 81, North Manchester, Indiana passed away on August 13, 2018 at Peabody Retirement Community, North Manchester. Betty was born on February 15, 1937 to Edson and Dorothy (Ludwig) Carroll in Huntington, Indiana.

After graduating from Urbana High School in 1955, Betty graduated from St. Joseph Hospital of Nursing in 1958. She married the love of her life Ernest Junior Wilcox on August 23, 1958. Together, Ernest and Betty started out their new life together in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma since Ernest was in the Army at that time. If it wasn’t scrubbing for an O.R. Doctor, Betty Lou would give 7-year-old boys and girls their weekly allergy shots or draw their blood in the lab and did it with commitment, compassion, and love. Before retiring in 1990, Betty worked as an RN at the Wabash County Hospital then the Manchester Clinic. Betty was a farm wife and homemaker. She was Ernest’s farm hand – from running equipment, shelling corn, bailing hay, and caring for animals. As a member of the St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church.  Church life was an important part of Betty’s life.  She helped with funeral dinners and taught Sunday school. She was also a part of the St. Robert Rosary Sodality. Betty was a Red Cross volunteer and an advocate for Right to Life. She believed in life from the point of conception. In her free time, Betty loved sewing clothes for Barbie’s. Betty was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.

Betty will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Ernest Wilcox, North Manchester, Indiana; one son David (Traci) Wilcox, North Manchester, Indiana; two daughters Teresa (Dan) Flora, North Manchester, Indiana and Christine Marie (Robert) Warner, Sarasota, Florida; one brother Robert (Ann) Carroll, North Manchester, Indiana; eight grandchildren Jaime (Chadd) Keaffaber, North Manchester, Indiana, Lydia (Kenny) Young, Plainfield, Indiana, Maria (Greg) Whicker, Clayton, Indiana, Amelia (Joe) Bradley, North Manchester, Indiana, Gabrielle Wilcox, North Manchester, Indiana, Branden Wilcox, North Manchester, Indiana, Felicity Warner, Boston, Massachusetts, Austen Warner, Sarasota, Florida; and nine great-grandchildren.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, August 17, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 1203 State Road 114 East, North Manchester, Indiana. Friends and family may call Thursday, August 16, 2018 from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at McKee Mortuary, 1401 State Road 114 West, North Manchester, Indiana.  A Rosary service will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 16, 2018 at McKee Mortuary. Father Andrew Curry will officiate and burial will be at Fairview Cemetery, Servia, Indiana. Arrangements are in the care of McKee Mortuary, North Manchester, Indiana.

For those who wish to honor the memory of Betty Lou Wilcox, memorial contributions may be made to St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 1203 State Road 114 East, North Manchester, Indiana 46962 or Alzheimer’s Association 50 East 91 Street, Suite 100, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240.

Betty was a firm believer that life began at conception and did not end until God called for your last breath. That is why she is the greatest mother her children could ever have.