Quinn Chapel A.M.E. steward was humanitarian, civil rights leader

A longtime community leader is being remembered for her humanitarian work, civil rights activism and dedication to local history.

Wilma Fox, 86, of Ironton, and longtime member of Quinn Chapel A.M.E., died Oct. 6 at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Russell.

Strongly active in the Lawrence County community for more than 50 years, her work encompassed a number of fields.

When asked how he would summarize her life, Marshall University social work professor Phil Carter, who is married to her niece, Beverly Carter, described Wilma as “an accomplished modern day Renaissance woman in the Tri-State.”

Born in Blackfork on Nov. 30, 1929, Wilma was a graduate of Blackfork High School and lived most her adult life in Ironton.

Fred Fox, her brother-in-law, remembers how she was instrumental in the desegregation of the city’s pool in the 1950s.

Mondays were designated as “Black Day” at the pool, which was located near Ironton High School on Seventh Street. Like all people of color at the time, Wilma was forbidden from swimming there for the rest of the week.

“But she went up there on a Sunday with three other women,” Fred Fox said. “And they didn’t have the guts to kick them out.”

Others soon followed in her defiance.

“People started to go whenever they wanted,” he said.

Rather than engage in a fight on the issue, officials relented and changed the rule, making the pool integrated seven days a week.

Carter said Wilma’s act of defiance was the catalyst to changing the city’s policy.

“It took one time for an individual to be willing to take that risk and not be concerned with the consequences,” he said.

Wilma worked at Lawrence County General Hospital as a ward clerk and was married to Charles Joseph “Joby” Fox, a veteran of World War II.

Her husband was confined to a wheelchair as a result of his service and Fred Fox said she was an excellent caretaker for him until he died of cancer in 1971, likely as a result of radiation exposure from working to clean up Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the atomic bombings.

Fred, who cared for Wilma in her later years, said he was only returning the favor.

“She took such good care of my brother,” he said.

Carter said that Wilma and her husband worked closely with local legislators and were key in getting the first handicapped veterans license plate issued by the state of Ohio, one of the first of its kind in the nation.

“She was able to deal effectively with all levels of government,” Carter said.

Fred and Wilma were both active in a number of civic organizations around town.

Carter spoke of the couple’s dedication to their work.

“There was a sensitivity and sincerity you don’t often find, and it was sustained for decades and sustained for life,” he said.

Wilma was a member of AARP, the treasurer of Church Women United, served on the Community Action Housing Board and took part in CROP Hunger Walks.

Fred remembered his sister as someone who worked to fight social ills.

“Whether it was hunger, racial inequality, inequities – all that stuff,” he said. “Anything that had to do with making society better, she was there.”

He said she poured herself into her causes but never sought credit for her work.

“She always got the job done,” he said. “Sometimes, so well, that people didn’t even know there was a job.”

She was active in any events and programs dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement. In a 2011 article in The Tribune, she spoke of never missing the annual Martin Luther King events at Ohio University Southern in what was the program’s 20th year at the time.

“It’s something we need to keep up,” she told The Tribune.

One of Wilma’s biggest passions was her church, where she served on the Stewards Board.

“Her church was her heart,” the Rev. Margaret Tyson, the current pastor, said, recalling how she always made sure the church had fresh flowers each week and how she played the piano, even as her health impaired her in recent years.

“She was kind, loving, faithful and caring,” Tyson said. “She stood up for what was right. She had strong opinions and was a wonderful lady.”

Tyson, who has been at the church for about a year, said when she first visited the area, coming from Warren, Ohio, she stayed with Fox.

“She would help you in any way you wanted,” she said.

Wilma was named a lifetime missionary in the A.M.E. Women’s Missionary Society, a global organization, which, through its religious work, also tackles health, economic, peace and justice issues. It was a great honor for her, Tyson said.

“There are a limited amount of openings and you have to have 25 years of service,” she said. “You have to be recommended by a pastor and have it approved.”

Wilma also had a deep interest in local history, working closely with the Lawrence County Museum. She researched and documented the history of Blackfork and the Underground Railroad.

“It, and areas along the Ohio River, were destinations people went to escape to freedom,” Carter said.

Her work was recognized at the state and national level, when she invited as a guest of honor to the opening of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center museum in Cincinnati in 2004, Carter said.

Tyson remembers how Wilma would always give her lessons in history.

“She was always giving me snippets of information about Blackfork,” she said. “She’s was always pulling up historical information about the church. She was a wealth of information.”

Tyson spoke of how Wilma cared, not only for her husband, but for her siblings and others in the community.

“She was the kind of person who was born to help people,” she said.
“Miss Wilma will be sorely missed.”

Carter said that Wilma was a constant source of inspiration and encouragement to others.

“Anyone who needed help or someone to extend a hand or a caring ear, she was there,” he said. “We owe so much to her.”