Linda Gray Willcox, obituary

Fri, 08/23/2019 - 10:00am

OWLS HEAD — Linda Gray Willcox went to be with the Lord, August 18, 2019 after battling a long illness.  

Born in Chicago, IL, March 31, 1938, she was the daughter of Oscar and Luella Sunstrom Nelson. Growing up in Wheaton, IL, after graduating high school, Linda attended Wheaton College where she met her husband, Gary Gray.

She spent most of her life with her husband raising their three children in Northbrook and Bannockburn, IL. They enjoyed spending summer vacations in Owls Head, Maine. When her husband, Gary, became handicapped due to MS she stepped up and supported the family while also caring for Gary. She worked many years as a legal secretary.

Several years after Gary’s death, she married William Willcox. They traveled the world together. Eventually they bought a house on the coast of Maine, spending six months in Owls Head and the other six months in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

Linda was very intelligent.  She enjoyed solving crossword puzzles and had a great love for reading. She was an excellent cook and made gourmet dishes for her husband and family. Later in life, she loved spending time
with her family and especially going out to dinner. Linda loved the Lord and had a strong Christian faith throughout her life.

Other than her parents, Linda was predeceased by her husbands, Gary in 1998, and William in 2011.

She is survived by her children Elizabeth Watkinson and husband Terry of Owls Head, Maine, Melanie Parsons and husband Richard of Barrington Il, Bradly Gray and wife Violetta of Ashburn VA; her sister, Mary Lou
Williamson of Phoenix AZ ; her brother, Jamie Nelson of Menominee, MI; five grandchildren, Alexandra Knight, Haley Watkinson, Samuel Watkinson, Noel Parsons and Matthew Parsons; two great-granddaughters,
Bella and Summer Knight; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit Tuesday, August 27, from 10:30 to 11 a.m., at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland, where a service will begin at 11 a.m. Rev. Paul Munro will officiate. A reception will follow at the funeral homes 104 Limerock reception center.

Burial will follow in Achorn Cemetery, Old County Road, Rockland. To share a memory or story with Linda’s family, visit their online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com