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RALPH OLIVER WILCOX '31, former Trojan football star, president of the USC Alumni Association and member of the USC Board of Trustees, died Nov. 27, 1999, at the age of 90.
Affectionately known as “Dutch,” Wilcox was born in Long Beach, Calif., and raised in the small town of Strathmore in Northern California. While earning his B.S. in business administration at USC, he excelled in sports as well as extracurricular activities. He was chosen by his teammates as the most valuable player of the USC football team of 1930. He was also a three-year letterman in baseball. In his senior year, he served as president of his fraternity, Kappa Sigma, and was a member of Skull and Dagger.
After graduation, he was employed at USC for several years as field secretary. He then left the University and chose the insurance business as his career, becoming associated with the Travelers Insurance Co. He married the former Penelope Bryan Jackson in 1935 and the couple made their home in Los Angeles for 17 years and later in Pacific Palisades, Calif., for 39 years.
During World War II, Wilcox served three years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He and his unit were awarded the Presidential Navy Commendation for outstanding work in the South Pacific theatre.
AFTER THE WAR, Wilcox returned to Los Angeles and started the Ralph O. Wilcox Co., a general insurance company. He retired in 1974. Numerous volunteer activities followed, including serving on the Board of Governors of the USC Alumni Association from 1969 to 1976. He was president of the association from 1974 to 1975, during which he simultaneously served as a trustee of the University. He was also a member of Cardinal and Gold and the Trojan Club.
Wilcox and his wife are the benefactors of the Ralph O. and Penelope Wilcox Endowed Scholarship Fund at the USC Marshall School of Business. The couple also established a scholarship endowment to benefit students in the USC Thornton School of Music.
He belonged to the American Legion, the Masons, and the Scottish Rite, and was a sustaining member of Boy Scouts of America for 20 years.
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