Clifford Lloyd Wilcox II
Clifford Lloyd Wilcox II, 66, passed away on Sunday, September 29, 2024. He was born on February 2, 1957, at Old Mercy Hospital in Nampa, Idaho, the first of six children born to Cliff Sr. and Lillian (Wallace) Wilcox.
Cliff Jr. grew up on a dairy farm in Kuna, Idaho, where he helped milk the cows and feed the farm animals before and after school. He also loved to participate in 4-H. Cliff enjoyed mowing lawns and was passionate about cycling/road racing bicycles and weightlifting. He was named Mr. Idaho in 1978-1979 for his deadlift weight class.
Cliff worked at Nampa Amalgamated Sugar Beet Factory until a car accident in July 1983. Through his tragedy, he found untapped strength and a new mission and purpose. He was a fighter and a champion for all with disabilities. In doing so, he proved every doctor wrong about his recovery by demonstrating he would walk again despite his high-level neck injuries.
While at Elks Rehabilitation Hospital in Boise, he realized the need to change laws for all disabled individuals. Cliff Jr., along with Cliff Sr., worked with the Idaho legislature in the mid-1980s to help write and pass four laws. These included allowing people with disabilities to hunt from a motorized vehicle and adding striping to accessible parking spaces, thus providing wheelchair access to cars. Cliff also influenced changes in the newly established Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws. His impact resulted in improvements to housing: cabinet heights, doorway extensions, larger bathroom stalls, and adding grab bars.
The hard work for ADA got the attention of a local newly formed group, AMUNIS, a school in Boise that trained disabled citizens and created jobs for all disabled. After completing his new training, he was hired by the Boise National Forest Service in 1989. Clifford was known for bridging interagency partnerships in Idaho and throughout the Northwest. This was especially true during fire season. A memorable photo was taken at the Boise Front/Shafer Butte fire, with flames in the background and Cliff on-site in his wheelchair. In 1997, he was honored by the National Forest Service for his outstanding service. The image of Cliff in his wheelchair still hangs in the National Forest Service Office in Washington, D.C. Cliff retired after 30 years at the Forest Service.
Cliff Jr. enjoyed hunting and reloading his shells. He volunteered for the “We the People” 4th of July Liberty Day Parade for over ten years, honoring our military. Wood cutting at Prairie, Idaho, on House Mountain and Packer John/Cougar Mountain Lodge was a family tradition. He loved fly fishing in the backcountry of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
Cliff Jr. was preceded in death by his father, Cliff Sr., baby sister, Sarah Jane, and both sets of grandparents: Lloyd and Vera Wilcox and John and Vera Lee Wallace. He is survived by siblings Lynea Dawn Smith, Timothy Wilcox, Karen Crosby, and Michael Wilcox, as well as several nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the St. Alphonsus Boise team for their compassionate care and Senator Jim Risch and his staff for intervening on Cliff’s behalf. Hands of Hope Northwest was terrific in providing wound care supplies for Cliff, which allowed Mom to care for him at his home for the last few years. We are indebted to their whole staff for showing love and care when we needed it most.
Final arrangements are under the direction of Bowman Funeral Parlor where you can sign an online guest book and share a favorite memory of Cliff. www.bowmanfuneral.com
A celebration of life and graveside service is still to be determined.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Cliff Jr.’s memory can be made to Hands Of Hope Northwest Inc., 1201 S Powerline Road, Nampa, Idaho 83686, http://HandsOfHopeNW.org