Duane Wilcox

"I was born and raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Cleon James Wilcox and Reah Thorn Wilcox in the year 1931 in Price, Carbon County Utah. While I was growing up we moved a few times within the states of Utah and Nevada."

Duane Thorn Wilcox wrote this brief history of his life, and, true to his character as a man of few words, that is all he wrote. Here is the rest of the story.

Duane was the second son of seven children. After moving around, the family settled in Salt Lake City, where Duane graduated from East High School in 1949. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Mexico/Central America mission with much time spent in El Salvador. This gave him the chance to use his Spanish, which he had started studying in junior high.

After his mission, he joined the US Air Force and served in post-war Germany. He was given the opportunity to learn German and Russian. His love of languages led him to continue to expand his skills to include some Portuguese and Italian. He worked to keep his language skills strong by reading the Book of Mormon in different languages.

He attended and graduated from Brigham Young University. This started his life-long love of all things BYU, especially the football team. BYU also gave him another great love of his life when he met a beautiful, dark-haired, Spanish speaking co-ed from Guatemala named Edna Macias. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 26, 1959. From this union were born 4 living children and one still-born son.

Duane joined the US State Department as an Assistant Attaché for Cultural Affairs after deciding that teaching high school was not for him. He was assigned to Quito, Ecuador and La Paz, Bolivia and served for about 4 years. Deciding to make a career change that was more suited to his family, he returned to Utah where he became a letter carrier. His family was his primary work, and he worked hard to take care of us. He had many callings in the church and was a stalwart in every ward, but his most important calling was husband and father.

In his later years, Duane and Edna served as workers in the Jordan River Temple, a temple mission in the Uruguay Temple and as Conference Center hosts. His faith in his Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ always shone brightly. He is a good example of enduring to the end and trusting in the Lord. He was loved deeply in life and will be greatly missed until we are reunited with him.

He is survived by his wife, Edna, and his 4 children. Margaret (Rory Jon) Jackson of Taylorsville, UT. Lucy (Terrence) Bride of Ogden, UT, James Wilcox of Draper, UT, and Michael (Melinda) Wilcox of Kearns, UT. Nine grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren with another on the way.

Also survived by 2 brothers, Dale Wilcox and Keven Wilcox, and 3 sisters, Joyce Hunt, Sharon Alexander, and Laraine Huff. He was preceded in death by his parents, a still-born son, a sister, Maxine Nelson, and 3 brothers-in-law.

The family would like to give special thanks to Levy and other staff of Harmony Hospice and Flor Infante, who helped care for Duane for many years. Also, gratitude goes to Michael and Melinda Wilcox who so generously and kindly opened their home years ago to our parents when their health started declining.

Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, January 10, 2023- ~11:00 a.m. at the Sun Ridge Ward, 5422 South Sarah Jane Drive, Salt lake City, Utah. Viewings will be held Monday, January 9, 2023, 5-7:00 p.m. at the church and Tuesday, January 10, 10-10:45 a.m. also at the church.

Interment, Farmington City Cemetery, 500 South 200 East.