Hope (Johnson) Wilcoxon was born on January 4, 1926 in Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of parents Bob and Ruth Johnson. She was raised in Thornburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh where the family lived until moving to Ohio in 1943. She was the oldest child with two siblings, Sally Hancox and Bob Johnson (both deceased).

Hope died on Monday January 26, 2026.

She graduated from Muskingum College where she met and married Jim Wilcoxon. Their life together was a blessing. They had one child, Jim Wilcoxon, Jr. (Leslie), and a foster son, Mike Soult (Bev). Hope is also survived by grandsons Matt (Lisa) and Jeff (Jenny), great grandchildren Hannah Higgins (Justin), Kate Wilcoxon, Charlie Wilcoxon, Anna Wilcoxon, Caroline Wilcoxon, and great-great grandsons Parker and Miles Higgins, foster grandsons, Michael Soult II (Lindsay), Christian Soult (Tracy) and their children Cara and James, McKinley Soult (Kristin), and their children Malachi and Olive.

Hope was a charter member of Reynoldsburg Baptist Church, holding many positions over the years. She would like to be remembered as a committed Christian, a wife, mother, grandmother, and G.G.

Many thanks to the staff and residents at Wesley Ridge Community where she has lived during her last years. It has been a privilege to live here.

Hope has written two books revealing her life experiences: Four Generations: Johnson's Real Ice Cream and Places You Live.