Frances Wilcox

1924 - 2022

Frances R. Wilcox

1924-2022 / In Loving Memory

Fort Collins, Colorado—Frances Irma Rosekrans Wilcox was born in Syracuse, New York, on November 8, 1924, the daughter of Charles Arthur Rosekrans and Lucy Leinbaugh Rosekrans. She was valedictorian of Minoa High School and graduated from the Crane School of Music at Potsdam State Teachers College (SUNY). She taught music for several years in public schools in Belleville, New York and Brookline, Massachusetts.

Frances married Calvin Hayden Wilcox on May 29, 1947. Soon afterwards they moved to Massachusetts where Frances taught school and Calvin attended Harvard University. She followed Calvin's career as he taught mathematics at the California Institute of Technology and subsequent faculty positions at the Universities of Wisconsin, Arizona, and Denver. In addition, they traveled for visiting positions to Stuttgart, Germany; Liège, Belgium; Geneva, Switzerland; and Kyoto, Japan. Calvin accepted a faculty position at the University of Utah in 1970 and that led to Frances' eventual stay of 49 years in Salt Lake City. Calvin died on June 7, 2001 after a struggle with Parkinson's.

First and foremost, Frances was a pianist and promoter of music in all places and forms. Her favorite activity was playing music with friends. She accompanied the Westminster Choir, German Chorus Harmonie, and other musicians, including violinist Marilyn Anderson in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. She also accompanied singing activities for residents at nursing care facilities, including Woodland Park, Holladay Care, and Saint Joseph Villa.

Frances served as a Red Cross volunteer for several years and was Chairman of Volunteers in the Salt Lake chapter. She was a long-time member of the Board of the Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City, serving first as hospitality chair, then program committee chair. She was active in the University of Utah Women's Club, especially in its musical activities, and became an honorary member in 1994. She was also a long-standing member of the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Calvin, and son, Victor, who passed away from cancer September 6, 2016. She is survived by son Christopher Wilcox and daughter Annette Wilcox, daughters-in-law Joann Clark and Hope Wilson, grandchildren Jessica Barton, Frances Frey, Jean Simmons, Timothy Simmons, Kate Wilcox, and Emma Wilcox, and great-grandchildren Amina, Colm, and Rowan Barton, and Vonnegut and Reuben Frey.