Service to Be Held for William Wilcoxen

A memorial service will be held Wednesday for William Wilcoxen, a former City Council and school board member who died last week at age 65.

The attorney and longtime Laguna Beach resident died in his sleep Thursday morning while vacationing in the High Sierra.

Friends and family members say Wilcoxen worked throughout his life on environmental issues, especially the preservation of the California coastline. He was instrumental in helping to preserve Main Beach in Laguna Beach, Salt Creek Beach Park in Dana Point and Pines Park in Dana Point.

For 25 years, he was the attorney for the former Capistrano Bay Parks and Recreation District.

Wilcoxen served on the Laguna Beach Unified School District board for six years until 1971. In 1981, he was appointed by the Laguna Beach City Council to fill a seat vacated by Wayne J. Baglin, who left the post early to take a job in Saudi Arabia.

Baglin, who has since been reelected to the council, called Wilcoxen’s death “a great loss” to the community. “He was somebody I was very fond of, and I was extremely happy to see him replace me on the City Council,” he said.

A member of the state Planning and Conservation League, Wilcoxen remained active until his death. Baglin said he had recommended Wilcoxen recently for a seat on the California Coastal Commission.

“He was probably one of the most knowledgeable and most reasonable people for coastal planning,” Baglin said.

Wilcoxen lived in Laguna Beach for 57 years and graduated from Laguna Beach High School. His law office was downtown.

He is survived by his wife, Lois, four children and six grandchildren.

Wednesday’s memorial service will be at 1 p.m. at Salt Creek Beach Park at Pacific Coast Highway and Ritz Carlton Drive in Dana Point.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made to the Planning and Conservation League Foundation in Sacramento or to Laguna Greenbelt or Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach.