Rusty A. Wilcox wasn’t a household name. He wasn’t an important business or political leader.
Rusty A. Wilcox, 64, died July 30 from leukemia. Wilcox was a fixture at Portland’s Blackstones, where he was known as “the Sheriff” because he looked out for any trouble that would come through the door, friends said. Submitted by Matthew Pekins
But at Blackstones, Wilcox was a fixture, known to everyone for his pool playing talents and for being a friend to all.
Wilcox, of Portland, died July 30 from leukemia. He was 64.
His last few days, spent at the home of friends in New Gloucester, were filled with visits from friends and loved ones.
“He passed at our house,” said Donny Gerow, wiping away tears. “Rusty helped build the house where he did home hospice.”
A heavy rain fell outside Blackstones on Saturday as Gerow recalled how nurses came to treat his friend with pain medication and how Wilcox tasted raspberries from their garden in his last days.
“It’s been a rough week. I really miss him,” Gerow said.
Wilcox was often called “the Sheriff” of Blackstones, where he cared for others and watched for potential trouble coming through the door at the Pine Street bar.
“He saved people” by helping others who drank too much to get home safely, Gerow said.
One night, a man stole a woman’s purse in front of Blackstones. “A guy ran by and grabbed it and ran up the street!” Gerow said. Wilcox saw what happened, caught up with the thief and returned the purse to the woman. Gerow said Wilcox yelled at the thief: “Stay out of here!”
Blackstones bartender Jennifer Paulo said she knew Wilcox for years.
“If any of the bartenders needed ice or getting cases of beer, he was always a gentleman. He never wanted me to lift anything,” she said, adding that he always had a smile and a sparkle in his eyes that lifted spirits.
Jerry Caron, who runs pool tournaments at Blackstones, said Wilcox was “without a doubt the best bank shooter in all the pool players I’ve seen. Rusty was a tough player to play against. If you missed too many (shots), your chances get slimmer.”
But Wilcox didn’t brag, Caron said. “Everybody liked Rusty. He was a good person to have around.”
Another friend, Mark Arsenault, said that on July 4, when Wilcox was in failing health, he had enough strength to play cards at Arsenault’s Little Sebago Lake home.
“He came up with $500 to buy firecrackers. We had a great Fourth of July,” Arsenault said. “He was a giving person, a real, genuine person. He’s up in heaven now, playing on the big pool table.”
Bob Tetreault, a good friend of Wilcox’s who owns the home where he passed, said “(Wilcox) wanted to be with me and the dogs” when he died. Wilcox often watched Tetreault’s dogs when he was away.
“He was a nice guy. He was trustworthy,” Tetreault said.
To some people, Wilcox was a simple man, according to Carl Currie, who wrote a tribute to Wilcox on Blackstones’ Facebook page. Currie was the manager of Blackstones when he first met Wilcox, who worked as a cleaner at the bar.
“Being a cleaner doesn’t usually warrant you a respected position, but for Rusty it did,” Currie wrote. “He took it more seriously than any cleaner I’ve seen in my 25 years in the bar industry.” Wilcox earned just enough money to buy his beer and play pool, and he was fine with that, Currie said.
“The reality is Rusty is easy to eulogize, but the simplicity of his life is overrun by such an authenticity and love of a man that lived on his own terms, and died on them too,” Currie wrote.
According to the obituary posted on Coastal Cremation Services of Portland, Wilcox was born on Feb. 11, 1959, the son of Fredrick and Barbara Wilcox.
He attended schools in Portland and worked different jobs over the years.
In addition to his friends, he is survived by his sisters, Cindy Macdonald and Tamara Wilcox, and his brother, James Wilcox.
A private burial will be held.
Blackstones is planning an annual pool tournament in Wilcox’s honor starting next year on Feb. 11, his birthday.
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