Wilcox was born on a ranch in Visalia, California, the youngest of seven children of Beatrice Arancis and Alex Wilcox, a farm hand. She was raised by her grandparents in a one-room house in the Venice Hills and after completing eighth grade, she also became a farm hand and a fruit packer. With Joe Garcia, she had four daughters and a son. She lived in Woodlake, California and died in a hospital in Visalia after her aorta ruptured when she was leaving a grandson's birthday party.[3][4][5]
Wukchumni language
Wilcox's grandmother spoke Wukchumni; after her death, Wilcox began working on a dictionary of the language as a tribute, with computer and other assistance from Nicholas Luna, an Apache.[1][3] She included sound recordings of each word in the dictionary, and after the appearance in 2014 of a documentary on her work in the New York Timesop-ed section,[1][2][6][7] her family and other members of their tribe became interested in reviving the language.[3] She and her daughter taught it; at her death Wilcox was teaching classes at the Owens Valley Career Development Center, which are to continue.[4][5] The dictionary was copyrighted in 2019, but is unpublished.[3] As of 2014, it was estimated that the Wukchumni tribe had fewer than 200 members.[1][2][7] In the early 2010s, when a relative died, Wilcox became the last remaining fluent speaker;[3] at her death, there were at least three, including one of her daughters.[4][5]
^ abcdVaughan-Lee, Emmanuel (August 18, 2014). "Who Speaks Wukchumni?". The New York Times (op-ed video, 9 min, 18 sec). ISSN0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
^ abHeller, Chris (September 22, 2014). "Saving Wukchumni". The Atlantic (with video by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, 9 min, 35 sec). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
