Jacqueline Irene Wilcox

Jacqueline “Jackie” Irene (Ferrie) Wilcox, 87, died on Monday, March 16, 2020 in her home in Kansas City, Missouri. A Celebration of Life and Memorial Mass will be held later this Spring. Her beautiful life will forever be cherished in the lives of her husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Jackie was born on May 8, 1933 in Spirit Lake, Iowa the daughter of Raphael William and Naomi Margaret (Cummins) Ferrie. She was one of seven sisters “The Ferrie Girls”. During World War II the Ferrie family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Jackie attended Immaculate Conception (IC) High School. At IC, she was involved with cheerleading squad for basketball both junior and senior year, school plays, yearbook club, senior class president, and Prom Queen and Sweetheart Queen for the all city “Keen Teen Club”.

Siblings celebrating their reunion with Jackie include Billy, Evelyn, Ruth, Kathy, and Patty. Her family finds comfort that Jackie has also been reunited with her son, Tom Wilcox, who passed away in August, 2019. She is survived by sisters Margaret Mary (Peggy) Rhoads and Arlene Duggan Maloney.

Jackie met the love of her life, John Garland Wilcox, in 5th grade, but did not start dating until their junior year. After high school, John joined the Navy and was assigned to the Battleship Missouri during the Korean Conflict. While on leave, he proposed to Jackie and they were married two weeks later August 23, 1952. Jackie and John celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary this past August (2019).

Jackie was a stay at home mom to her six children until her youngest child went off to kindergarten; she and John purchased a dry-cleaning business which she ran until they moved to CA. Later, while living in KCMO, Jackie decided to pursue an accounting degree. When her second oldest son wanted to move closer to home and own his own pharmacy, Jackie changed her college plans and she and John invested in their son and Round Corner Pharmacy and Cheese Shoppe in Lawrence, KS where she took over the accounting duties.

As an empty nester, Jackie joined her husband on the golf course and became an avid golfer. She was active in the Ladies Golf Associations of Angel Fire Resort in NM, Shangri La in Grove, OK, and Liberty Hills Country Club in Liberty, MO. She taught her family to never stop pursuing the things you love and never stop learning.

To her six children Ron (Mary) Wilcox, Tom (LuAnn) Wilcox, Jim (Amy) Wilcox, Karen Downing, Lisa (Eric) Cross, and Patti (John) Shell, she was the gentle, quiet strength that guided them through life with faith, unprecedented patience, and humor. Jackie was lovingly known as “Golfing Grandma” to her 17 grandchildren and “Grandma Gigi” to her five great grandchildren.