Margery Lois Knierim Wilcoxen, 83, of Springfield, formerly of Decatur, passed away on Monday, May 22, 2023 at her home. She was born on January 17, 1940 in Decatur, the second of four daughters of Chester A. and Colborne Sims Knierim.
She was baptized at age 10 at her home church, First Baptist Church of Decatur. She loved to swim at the local YWCA and eventually became proficient at synchronized swimming. She enjoyed many childhood vacations with her parents and her three sisters Susie, Jeanette, and Charlene. Margie loved the outdoors and spent a few summers as a camp counselor including one summer at a camp for special needs kids. Her confidant and spiritual mentor as a child was her grandmother Helen “Ding” Sims. She spent many days at Ding’s house in Decatur. She was very active in the Girl Scouts for many years and enjoyed the summer camps.
Marge graduated from Decatur High School on May 25, 1958, then attended Illinois State University from 1958–1961. She worked as an operator at Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Decatur from 1961 to 1963. Marge married Sam Wilcoxen at First Baptist Church of Decatur on August 26, 1962. At that time Sam was one of the pastors at First Baptist. Marge and Sam had three children: Dave, Carol, and Dan each eight years apart. Soon after each child was born, Sam and Marge packed their bags and moved to new homes and new churches: in Elgin, IL, Columbus, OH, Stonington, IL, and New Berlin, IL. After Sam died, Marge moved to Springfield, IL and became active at Cherry Hills Church.
Marge was able to spend much quality time raising each of her three children. She said that she prayed for each of her kids’ spouses long before she ever met them. She just knew that there was someone special out there for each of her kids and she was right. She quickly developed strong bonds with her son-in-law Brad and her daughters-in-law Lisa and Angela that lasted her entire life.
Grandma Marge loved being a grandmother and was very proficient at it. All seven of her grandchildren – Gail, Mark, Bethany, Lyndsey, Carly, Ben, and Emma – had a special connection with her. And she was excited to recently find out that her first great-grandchild was on the way.
Marge took her role as a pastor’s wife seriously. She was always active in each church she was in. She developed life-long friendships at each one. Besides her role as a pastor’s wife, Marge sometimes picked up part-time work on the side. Her favorite jobs were babysitting jobs for friends and at the church. Many of those children later developed relationships with Marge as adults. Those were some of her most cherished friendships. She also worked as a receptionist for three area banks. She loved to garden and was never afraid to get her hands dirty whether at home or with the Cherry Hills team. Marge also loved to travel with family and special friends. She especially recalled being the grandmother on mission trips to Costa Rica with Cherry Hills groups.
Marge was a special friend to many. She was constantly reaching out to others to pray, mentor, play games, and meet their needs. Some called her a surrogate grandmother or second mother.
Marge was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Samuel; and three sisters, Helen “Susie” Knierim, Jeanette Brix, and Charlene Kessler.
She is survived by her three children and their spouses; her seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild that is on the way; brother-in-law, John Kessler of Auburn and his children, Curtis and Carl; brother-in-law, Julian Brix of Sandy Hook, CT and his children, Laura, Leslie, and Garry; and several cousins.
Visitation: 4 – 7 pm, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at Staab Funeral Home – Springfield.
Funeral Service: 10 am, Thursday, June 1, 2023 at Cherry Hills Church with Pastor Jeff Nelsen officiating. A lie-in-state will take place from 9 – 10 am. Burial will take place at Graceland Cemetery in Decatur.
Memorial Contributions may be made to the Cherry Hills Global Mission Fund or to the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (MMBB) Heritage of Sharing.
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