Joyce M. Wilcox

Joyce M. (Dittman) Wilcox, 86, of East Haddam, Conn., entered into the presence of our Lord on Sunday, March 11, 2018, at Yale-New Haven Hospital after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

We give thanks to God for this dear, gentle, kind, generous and lovable lady who was a blessing to us all. As wife, mother, and homemaker she was admired and appreciated for her devotion to her family.

Joyce was a daughter of the late Raymond E. and Neva V. Dittman, of Williamsport, Pa. She was a graduate of the Williamsport High School class of 1949 and the Wheaton Business School of Williamsport.

Joyce was an active member of the Gales Ferry United Methodist Church and a covenant member of the First Congregational Church in Essex, UCC while residing in Connecticut.

She loved theater and the arts and supported many community theater programs through costume design and administration. The cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy were fortunate to benefit from her loving support and care as a cadet sponsor mother for many years.

She is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, Rodney C. Wilcox; two daughters, Cynthia Fusco and husband, Nicholas Fusco, of Killingworth, Conn. and Sharon “Shari” Wilcox and fiance, Scott Weaver, of Ivoryton, Conn.; and a son, Robb C. Wilcox and wife, Maryann Wilcox, of Holliston, Mass.; and by two grandchildren, Cameron Fusco and Mackenzie Wilcox; and by one sister, Wilma “Billie” Hakes and husband, Jack Hakes, of East Berlin, Pa.

Visitation will be held on Friday, March 23, 2018, from 5-7 p.m. at the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main St. in Centerbrook, Conn. A funeral service will be held at the First Congregational Church in Essex, UCC, 6 Methodist Hill, Essex, Conn. 06426 on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the “Joyce Wilcox Memorial Choral Music Fund” at the First Congregational Church.

To share a memory of Joyce or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com.