Kay Ellen Wilcox

Kay Ellen (Sharrock) Wilcox, Toledo, reached the end of her life journey on December 20, 2023, surrounded by her close knit family: Larry (husband), Geoffrey (son), Julia (daughter in spirit), Allyson and Ike (granddaughter and partner), and Seth (grandson).

Kay was born in Coshocton County, Ohio on July 21, 1943, the only child of Doris Lawrence and Farrill Sharrock. She grew up in the small town of Plainfield and graduated from West Lafayette High School, where she met Larry Wilcox in a typing class in the fall of 1959. They married the next year, and they shared all the joys and challenges of life for the next sixty-four years.

Kay focused her life, above all else, on supporting the dreams and aspirations of her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. The most important support Kay provided was helping her beloved daughter manage a serious medical condition. Kay worked at Ohio University and the Ohio unemployment office in Athens, Ohio in the early 1960s. She skillfully juggled two small children, a few classes, and a full time position in the finance office of the University of Virginia in the mid-1960s. She held a similar position in the finance office of the University of Toledo in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was the director of the Toledo Hospital Federal Credit Union. Until Larry’s retirement, Kay supported all his activities at the University of Toledo. The happiest times of her life were the years in Charlottesville, and helping her two children achieve some of their dreams in the 1980s and 1990s.

A very private, but remarkably talented individual, Kay had many and varied interests. Her love of food and cooking began as a late teen when she started cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” To the end of her life, one of her favorite activities was reading cookbooks from her extensive collection for fun and inspiration. She followed many cooking shows on PBS as a source of ideas for her own magical kitchen efforts. Kay could look into her refrigerator for ingredients and create a wonderful meal for her family without even consulting a recipe.

Kay and a good friend spent many days haunting garage sales all over Toledo to find inexpensive furniture and other items for her home. In the process, she became interested in collecting antiques and handicrafts, another passion she pursued the rest of her life. Along with her son in this country and her husband and close friends in England, Kay expanded not only her favorite collections, but also her extensive knowledge of antiques and handicrafts. Her favorite places to search for such items were the Cotswolds and Suffolk in England, Oberammergau in southern Germany, and Ontario in Canada, where she and Larry, with good friends, visited the Stratford Shakespeare Festival many times. Kay had a special affection for travelling in England. Like many people there, she believed that a good cup of tea could make any situation better.

Later in life, after her two children had completed their higher education, Kay developed a serious interest in Art History, which became the focus of her undergraduate program at the University of Toledo in the 1980s. Trips to England always included searches for authentic paintings by Anthony van Dyck in museums and country houses, the focus of her Art History research.

Kay had a life-long interest in mystery novels, especially English ones, starting with Agatha Christie and expanding to many other authors, as well as to movie and TV adaptations. She also had a passion for quilts, considering them a form of artistic expression, whether a classic colorful Amish Sunshine and Shadow quilt or a humble Nine Patch quilt made of scraps. She amassed a library of quilt books to study their history and artistry. She loved participating in a local quilting group that made quilts for charities. Kay shared her husband’s favorite hobby of gardening. She tended all the herbs and flowers, while Larry tried to grow more organic vegetables for Kay’s table. She especially loved old fashioned flowers, such as hydrangeas, lilies, daffodils, and the wildflowers that reminded her of her childhood in rural Ohio.

Kay is survived by her husband Larry Wilcox of Toledo, son Geoffrey Wilcox of Arlington VA, granddaughter Allyson Koepfler and partner Ike Vayansky of Cleveland, grandson Seth Koepfler of Myrtle Beach SC, step-brother and wife James and Mary Mersereau-Kempf of Midland MI, sisters-in law Karen Wilcox of Fort Myers FL and Kathy Wilcox of Hilton Head SC, good friend Ernie Art of Plainfield OH, and many nephews and a niece. She was preceded in death by daughter Julia Kay Wilcox, father Farrill Sharrock, mother Doris Lawrence Kempf, and stepfather Ralph Kempf.

Our dear Kay will be missed more than can be imagined by her close family and friends, but her spirit will remain with us forever.

The family would like to extend thanks to the Hospice of Northwest Ohio for the compassionate care Kay received in the final days of her life journey, especially the staff of the Ebeid Hospice Center at Promedica Flower Hospital.

Kay supported many worthy charities, but she would want you to direct any memorial contributions to the charity of your choice.

There will be no public services.

Arrangements by Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave., Toledo OH 43623.