Kerry L. Wilcox

1953-2023

Kerry L. Wilcox “Tripping Turkey”, 69, of Gilman, passed away in his home on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Gilman Funeral Home at 2 p.m. on March 25. Visitation will be one hour prior to services and reception to follow. The family would like to thank all the Gilman First Responders and Grand Central Station Bar & Grill for their efforts and kindness.

He was born on Aug. 31, 1953 in Duluth, Minn. as the son of the late Kenneth and Pauline (Privett) Wilcox. Kerry spent much of his childhood being raised by his loving grandparents until his father and step-mother, Clarine Wilcox, moved their family to Wausau, when he was a young teen. He then graduated from Wausau West High in 1971 and was married to his former wife, Barb (Marone) Wilcox for 36 years. He owned Northland Wood Floors and worked as a volunteer First Responder/EMT for many years before attaining his nursing degree from NTC, all while helping raise his family on pancakes, undercooked rice dishes and a sense of humor. He worked in several facilities as a nurse, but had a special gift for working with the elderly.

Kerry met his second love, Bernadette Peterson, and they “retired” to South Dakota. During that time, he started a successful leather business, Double T Leather, and eventually moved to Gilman in 2019 where he has lived since. They spent 11 happy years together before she passed. He developed many friendships while bartending at Grand Central Station Bar & Grill - Gilman.

Kerry enjoyed fishing, kayaking and rocking on his back porch swing. He spent many years reenacting, telling stories to anyone with ears and creating beautiful items from various materials, particularly leather and woodwork. He played the mountain dulcimer and a mean radio.

He is survived by his two daughters, Kathy (John) Hannie of Wausau and Becky (Lucas) Olli of Stratford; 6 grandchildren (Tressa, Tyler, Makayla, Summer, Marshall and Mitchell); 4 great-grandchildren (Jeremy, MacKenzie, Phoenix and Apollo); his mother, Pauline Majchrzak; his step-mother, Clarine (Doug) Hollowell-Wilcox; his siblings, Keith (Wendy) Wilcox, Tim Majchrzak, Barb (Lyle) Gehrke, Diane (John) Luse, Suzanne Ching, Kenny Wilcox; as well as multiple nieces and nephews and his beloved dog, Mitzi.

He was preceded in death by partner, Bernadette Peterson; father, Kenneth “Hawk”; brother, Dan Majchrzak; sister, LuAnne Klemme; and several nephews.

Paid Obituary 133526