Elworth “James” Wilcox was born on May 27, 1948 in Galveston, Texas. He is the son of the beautiful Lola Wilcox and the late Albert Wilcox. He grew up in a God fearing and loving home. James is the oldest of four boys, Al, Kenny, and Reggie. Checking in on mom, as he affectionately called her, was something that he enjoyed doing, and he did it daily. Granny said, “I’m grateful for the 73 years God allowed me to have James.”
After 3 years at Lamar University, he was accepted into the School of Allied Health Science at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. In 1970 , he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from the UTMB in Medical Laboratory Technology. He was later certified as a Registered Medical Technologist. Following graduation, worked as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at the United States Public Health Service Hospital (Galveston), St. Mary’s Hospital (Galveston), and UTMB.
James was introduced into Alpha Phi Alpha (Epsilon Rho) at Lamar University, Beaumont Texas. James is a proud Life Member and the current treasurer of the local chapter, Gamma Pi Lambda in Galveston, Texas. He was a good Alpha man.
He is also the father of Elworth “Boobie” (Forosha) and Brian (Sondra). If the 3 men walked into a room at separate times, you would hear perfect strangers say, “those have to be your boys.” The 3 men enjoyed talks about sports, especially football (James loved his Texans) and his beloved Shiloh AME church while sharing a good meal.
James married Mattie Beatrice Lewis in September of 1994. It was a pleasure to love and care for her, and her heart is forever grateful for how he took care of her. He was also a blessing to her daughters, Shelia Sumlin (Lee) and Felicia Potts (Mark). You could stop by any day of the week to witness him enjoying the blessing of the grandchildren this relationship reaped him. Chloe said, “he was good to me; I miss him so much.”
Wil was also a devoted member of the Shiloh AME Usher Board. His ministry was serving others as a gate keeper for the Lord; a role that he took seriously and loved.
Along with his numerous family and friends, Elworth leaves to cherish his life, wife, sons, mother, brothers and grandchildren: Elworth III, Thaddeus, Christian, and Rian Wilcox. He also leaves to cherish him as Papa Samantha, Chloe’, Briea, Eden, Isaiah, and Nikkos.