Frank and Ellaine Wilcox are enjoying their retirement years on shores of Little Glen Lake, and they're also getting satisfaction from helping local residents do their taxes.

The couple bought a cabin from Frank's parents in 1984 and moved to Leelanau County the same year. Each year they enjoy seeing their children, grandchildren and now a great-grandchild visit and play on the beach in front of their home.

The Wilcoxes have always volunteered their time and resources, and right now their community service involves helping senior citizens and special needs people fill out their income tax returns.

Frank Wilcox said it all began about 22 years ago.

“We started attending Glen Lake Community Reformed Church when we moved up here. Ellaine took over as treasurer for the church,” he said. The woman who had been treasurer asked the Wilcoxes if they wanted to learn how to help others complete their federal and state tax return forms. Frank said he had no formal training in accounting, though Ellaine was a bookkeeper for many years.

“We took the class and started helping seniors in the county and around the area fill out their forms. We must like it, we keep coming back,” he said with a laugh.

Each year volunteer tax preparers must pass a class offered through United Way of Northwest Michigan on tax preparations. “We sign a paper stating we won’t take any gratuity,” Ellaine added.

Working through the Commission on Aging offices in Leelanau and Benzie counties, the Wilcoxes help low-income seniors. “We do help a couple of special needs people, but most of our clients are senior citizens who can’t afford to go to an accountant,” Frank said. “We must be doing okay, they keep asking us if we want to come back and do it again,” he said.

When they started helping others in 1985, the Wilcoxes traveled anywhere the Commission on Aging sent them, from Northport to Traverse City. About 10 years ago, they began limiting where they would go to help.

“Going into Traverse City from our house is a bit of a drive,” Frank said. They now spend most of their time working out of the Benzie office in Honor. “We do stop by the Empire meal site and help folks out there, but we do most of our work out of the office in Honor,” he said.

Debbie Sever, executive director of the Benzie council, said the Wilcoxes are wonderful assets.

“They really enjoy what they do. They get a lot of the same people each year and they still fill out the forms by hand, not on a computer. I think most of the seniors like it that way, so they are more comfortable with them,” she said.

The Wilcoxes are some of the few volunteer tax preparers left who still fill out the tax forms by hand. “We each have a briefcase full of forms. If I don’t have a form on me, odds are Ellaine does,” Frank said. “We give everything to the people we’re helping and they are responsible for their paperwork. We don’t take anything with us,” he said.

Sever said the Wilcoxes spend Thursday and Friday afternoons during the tax season helping senior citizens complete their returns. “They start here at noon and each help four people each day. So that’s 16 people a week they get through,” Sever said.

The Wilcoxes said they’re willing to help just about anyone in need, but stress that they are not accountants. “We can help fill out the forms and make sure the people are getting the tax credits they are due. We don’t do businesses, and if someone needs something more then the basic return, we’ll tell them they probably should go to an accountant,” Frank said.

The Wilcoxes also offered high praise for the Benzie and Leelanau agencies that help seniors. “Both offices have been great. The Benzie people, they let us use their office on Thursdays and Fridays. They let us make copies, they are just a great group of people to work with,” Ellaine said.

The Wilcoxes said the Benzie council staff books appointments and helps with preparation work. “We come in and everything is ready to go. That really helps us get as much done as we can,” Frank said.

Susan McQuaid, the volunteer center director for the United Way of Northwest Michigan, runs the agency’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), which coordinates the volunteer tax preparers’ program.

“Frank and Ellaine are the perfect example of what is right in the world. They have volunteered with the tax program for years and have formed friendships with dozens of clients through out that period of time. They absolutely delight in helping seniors get back their tax credits,” she said.

So far this year, the Wilcoxes estimated they had helped about 60 families. By tax deadline day on April 15, they will have helped over 100 families complete their tax returns. Both Frank and Ellaine said they encourage seniors who are thinking about using the service to get their calls in early to the Commission on Aging.

“We start slowing down after the first of April. We go to people’s houses sometimes, if they can’t get to a meal site or to the office in Honor. If someone needs help, we’ll help them as much as we can,” Frank said.

What Frank and Ellaine enjoy the most about their volunteer work is meeting people. “We get to know these folks. They look forward to seeing us and we look forward to seeing them. We get to hear all about what is new in their families, how the last year went for them personally. It’s a lot of fun,” Ellaine said.

With Frank turning 82 in April and Ellaine a spry 79, the Wilcoxes are not planning on slowing down anytime soon. Outside of tax work, they both are very active in their church and belong to different community groups as well.

“We have always volunteered. I never thought about doing other people’s taxes before doing this. We got started on it and we don’t know enough to quit,” Frank said.