Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Willcox, Thomas Hamlin December 17, 2000
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Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) - Tuesday, December 19, 2000




Thomas Hamlin Willcox Jr., 75, passed away peacefully at his home Dec. 17, 
2000. 

He was born in Norfolk on Aug. 20, 1925, to Thomas H. Willcox Sr. and Elizabeth 
Winslow Willcox. 

He attended local primary schools and graduated from Episcopal High School. 
During his Navy service in World War II, he attended Harvard Business School 
and later earned an undergraduate and law degree from the University of 
Virginia. He became the third generation of his family to enter the practice of 
law with a commitment to serve others. 

He lived his commitments every day with tireless service to the law, dedication 
to his native city and a courageous passion for equal opportunity. 

In 1994, Tom was named Norfolk's First Citizen capping 30 years of quiet 
accomplishments in what The Virginian-Pilot described as a ''crucial but unsung 
leadership role.'' 

In the late 1950s when the state's Massive Resistance stand closed Norfolk's 
white high schools, Tom was among the prominent citizens who took a public 
stand for integration and re-opening of city schools. 

In 1962, he was asked to lead Norfolk's Citizens Advisory Committee on 
harmonizing race relations working in areas such as fair housing, equal access 
to building trades and funding for the Southside Boy's Club. 

He served as the local United Way's first chairman of the Board, having already 
streamlined the organization's financial operations into a model adopted by 
other United Way groups. 

At various times, Tom was director of the Greater Norfolk Corp., the Tidewater 
Small Business Investment Corp., and the United Virginia Bank. He served as 
president of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, the United Cerebral Palsy 
Association, the Norfolk Sertoma Club, and the Norfolk Yacht Club. He also 
served as a trustee of Norfolk Academy, Blue Ridge School, Virginia Wesleyan 
College, the Old Dominion University Research Foundation and the University of 
Virginia's Alumni Board of Managers. 

In the early 1970s, Tom was instrumental in negotiations for Norfolk's 
acquisition of the art collection of Walter Chrysler. He served as president of 
the Chrysler Board from 1983 to 1989, leading a successful fund drive for a $12 
million renovation that put the museum in the nation's top 20. 

His love for the city of Norfolk was rivaled only by his affections for time 
spent with family and friends at a vacation home in Nags Head known as ''The 
Happy Shack.'' 

Tom was also an active member of Christ and St. Luke's Church and devoted to 
his family. He gave his children every opportunity and only asked in return 
that they be honest and happy in life. 

Tom's memory is lovingly cherished by his wife of 52 years, Elizabeth F. 
Willcox, and his three children, Ellen Willcox Ellis, Thomas Hamlin Willcox III 
and John Ferguson Willcox. He was loved by six grandchildren, Cary Ellis, Doug 
Ellis, Thomas H. Willcox IV, Matthew Willcox, Carter Willcox and Peyton 
Willcox, as well as his two sisters, Elizabeth Willcox Crawford and Katherine 
Willcox Kittrell. 

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday at Christ and St. Luke's 
Church in Norfolk by the Rev. James W.H. Sell and the Rev. Carlotta B. Cochran. 

The Willcox family would like to express its deepest gratitude to the friends 
who comforted and cared for ''Tommy'' as he endured more than 15 years with 
Parkinson's Disease. 

They ask that memorial donations be made either to The Salvation Army or to the 
Chrysler Museum in the name of Thomas Hamlin Willcox Jr. 

H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, Laskin Road Chapel, is handling arrangements. 

Additional Comments:
Cedar Grove

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