Robert Nelson Wixom, 88, of Vermont, died at 6:25 a.m. Saturday, March 16, 1996, at the McDonough District Hospital in Macomb.
He was born in Harmony, Wis., on May 13, 1907, a son of John C. Wixom and Catherine Douglas Wixom. He married Doris Cox on August 29, 1934, in Galesburg. She died Sept. 12, 1995.
He is survived by one son, Theodore M. Wixom of Lexington, Ky.; one daughter, Catherine Wixom-Wilkes of McHenry; four grandchildren, Sheryl DiVita, John Mathews, Elizabeth Nunziato and Margaret Lauer; six great-grandchildren; and one brother, Gordon D. Wixom of Edgerton, Wis.
His wife, three brothers and one sister preceded him in death.
He was a member and Past Master of the Vermont Masonic Lodge No. 116, a 56-year member of the Mohammed Shrine & Consistory in Peoria, and was on the Fulton County Board of Health. He was a former President of the Vermont School Board, a former Director of the Fulton County Fair and the Vermont Village Board, and a former member of the Elks Club. He was very active in the Republican party and served on former Gov. Thompson’s State Health Commission and the Central Illinois Agency on Aging. He also served on the Schuyler County Fair Board and owned and raced standard breed horses. He was a member of Illinois Harness Racehorse Association.
He graduated from Milton College in Milton, Wis. in 1930 and received the Rolland Sayre Memorial Award for athletics and scholarship his senior year. In 1980 he received the Eminent Miltonian Alumni Award from Milton.
He coached at Table Grove for one year and 21 years at Rushville. In honor of his dedication to athletics at Rushville High School, their football field was named Bob Wixom Field. He retired from teaching in 1970. He started and operated the Vermont Theatre in Vermont, and later converted it into the Vermont Bowl, which he owned and operated for several years. In 1993 he received the Vermont Men’s Bowling Association Award.
He was Honorary Coach for the Illinois Coaches Association 1981 All-Star Football game and their 1986 All-Star Basketball game and was recognized for 22 years of dedicated coaching with five championship years, one undefeated. He was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Illinois Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1981. He also served on the Chicago Daily News Football All-State Board.
Graveside services will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at the Vermont Cemetery with Rev. Clint Palmer officiating. Visitation will be held Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Kost Memorial Home in Vermont.
Memorials may be made to the Schuyler Community Unit School District Athletic Fund, 215 W. Washington, Rushville, Ill. 62681.
Current Obituaries in the Astoria South Fulton Argus