The Life of FRANK COX Jr.
Frank Cox, Jr., 89, was born November 4, 1924, in Brewton, AL, the son of Frank and Eva Jones. He passed away on Sunday, November 17, 2013, in Des Moines.
Frank was born, November 4, 1924 in Brewton, Alabama. His early life was hard; he had a father that was an alcoholic and a mother who didn’t want him, neither was around very much. He learned that his life would not be an easy one, and he had to fight for everything that he got, and that also carried over into his adult life.
He was adopted by his grandparents on his mother’s side and as soon as he was able, he went to work on the family farm. Even there he did not find an easy life. He told us that he got put in a pen with a bull that had a reputation of killing whoever was close enough, he know from that point that no one wanted him. He learned to fight for what he wanted and that mindset continued for most of his life.
As the years passed and he grew unto a young man, he enlisted into the US Army in 1943. He was part of the Battery B 739th Field Artillery division, he was with the Gun Crewman Heavy Artillery division. He went to Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. He received a World War II Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Service Medal and a European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with 1 Silver Star. Frank received an Honorable Discharge on December 29th, 1945.
Before he and mom married, he knew that church was an important part of her life and he would walk with her and my aunt thru the woods to church to make sure they got there safe. He was 26 years old when he married my mom, February, 1946. In time they had 7 children. Neither of them finished school, so they decided to go to night school to get their diplomas. My oldest brother Johnny decided that he no longer wanted to go to school so dad said that was fine, he could go to night school with his mom and dad. Johnny decided that staying in school was a good idea. All their children were there the night they graduated high school.
Dad was a man that worked hard to provide for his family. He was a truck driver but after a couple of accidents he decided that he would stop driving and find something different to do. He never lost the love for driving a truck but knew that he needed to be home. Mom and us children went to church on a regular basis but there was something missing. Mom and Dad decided to make a trip to Des Moines to check out the church they had heard was there. They liked what they found and went back home and talked to the pastor of the church that we were attending. The pastor told them that if they needed to move, there was no place he would rather they go than to the Des Moines Assembly. Mom and Dad sold the house, packed up a U-Haul, and moved us up to the frozen north. Dad looked for a job while here on vacation and when he went back home to make arrangements he had a job waiting for him. I remember the time that dad got a really bad case of pneumonia; we all thought he was going to die from this. He believes that the Lord healed him one night, he later described what happened -- described lights coming down and passing under him 3 times and he knew that he would never again get pneumonia, which he never did.
Dad received the gift of the Holy Ghost in 1978 while I was on vacation to visit my sister, April in California.
Dad had triple by-pass in May 1999 and lost his wife of 53 years on June 1, 1999. Dad has given his blessing to his 4 daughter’s marriages, accepted 4 son-in-laws and 2 daughter-in-laws. He and mom have been blessed with 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. He remained a faithful member of Gospel Assembly Church even as his physical limitation kept him at home. He maintained a time of reading his Bible and praying up to the point where his illness took that away. He believed 100% what the Bible said and knew that prayer was the answer to all things. He may not have expressed how he felt but I know the he appreciated the ministry of Bro. Lloyd Goodwin, Bro. Vernon Goodwin and Bro. Glenn Goodwin.
Every night I would walk by his room, I would see him on his knees praying, he knew where his help came from.Frank is survived by his children, Johnny (Sandy) Cox, Della (Bill) Mercer, Nancy (Roy) Lilland, Larry Cox, Paul (Nancy) Cox, April (J.R.) Peters, Gloria (Roy) Jacobs; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Maude; and brother, Manfred. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 22, 2013, at Gospel Assembly, 7135 Meredith Drive, with burial to follow at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to Gospel Assembly Church in loving memory of Frank.
