FORT WORTH -- The routine was familiar to the family and friends of J.C. and Josie Cox.
When the couple visited, they'd sit a spell and talk, perhaps for an hour, maybe two. Then, without saying a word, Mr. Cox would stand up, grab his hat and coat, and silently walk to the front door. It was his way of saying he was ready to go, and Mrs. Cox, his wife of 75 years, always followed.
Last week, at an Arlington nursing home, Mr. Cox, 100, clutching his wife's hand, died of complications from pneumonia. Five hours later, Mrs. Cox, 96, followed her husband. She had suffered from a heart condition.
"When he passed away he didn't say a lot, but he went and she went with him," said granddaughter Lesha Grimm, 47. "To me, he was saying to her, 'C'mon, let's go.'"
John Clay Cox was born June 30, 1907, in the little town of Star, about two hours southwest of Fort Worth. Josie May Cox was born June 3, 1911, in Big Spring.
They met at a baseball game and fell in love. They married on Christmas Day 1932. It was the Great Depression, but Mr. Cox always found work. The day after their wedding, they drove his truck from Star to Fort Worth to deliver a load of chickens, said granddaughter Marla Williamson, 53. The Coxes are survived by six grandchildren.
They moved to Fort Worth in 1954, when Mr. Cox found work as a crane operator and mechanic, Williamson said. The couple bought a two-bedroom wood-frame house in west Fort Worth for $4,800. They lived there 50 years.
They saw some hard times. Their daughter, May Bell Wallace, and her husband died of accidental carbon-monoxide poisoning while on vacation in 1981. And in February, their son Alvis Cox died of complications from lung cancer.
"I kind of think that was just more than they could take," Grimm said.
Last month, the couple moved into an Arlington nursing home. Mrs. Cox, who insisted on taking care of her husband, was going blind, the family said.
Last Thursday morning, the family was told that Mrs. Cox's heart problems were worsening and that she could die any day. That afternoon, Mr. Cox's health unexpectedly declined. That afternoon, with the couple's beds pushed together, Mr. Cox died.
Over the next five hours, Mrs. Cox lay on the nursing-home bed, unable to move.
Leaning close to her grandmother's ear, Williams whispered, "You know, Grannie, we're going to be OK. Paw and your children are waiting for you. It's OK. You can leave." Within minutes, she closed her eyes and was gone.
Memorials
The family asks that donations be made to Dallas Metro Ministries, P.O. Box 226624, Dallas, TX 75222
Published in Star-Telegram from April 3 to April 8, 2008
When the couple visited, they'd sit a spell and talk, perhaps for an hour, maybe two. Then, without saying a word, Mr. Cox would stand up, grab his hat and coat, and silently walk to the front door. It was his way of saying he was ready to go, and Mrs. Cox, his wife of 75 years, always followed.
Last week, at an Arlington nursing home, Mr. Cox, 100, clutching his wife's hand, died of complications from pneumonia. Five hours later, Mrs. Cox, 96, followed her husband. She had suffered from a heart condition.
"When he passed away he didn't say a lot, but he went and she went with him," said granddaughter Lesha Grimm, 47. "To me, he was saying to her, 'C'mon, let's go.'"
John Clay Cox was born June 30, 1907, in the little town of Star, about two hours southwest of Fort Worth. Josie May Cox was born June 3, 1911, in Big Spring.
They met at a baseball game and fell in love. They married on Christmas Day 1932. It was the Great Depression, but Mr. Cox always found work. The day after their wedding, they drove his truck from Star to Fort Worth to deliver a load of chickens, said granddaughter Marla Williamson, 53. The Coxes are survived by six grandchildren.
They moved to Fort Worth in 1954, when Mr. Cox found work as a crane operator and mechanic, Williamson said. The couple bought a two-bedroom wood-frame house in west Fort Worth for $4,800. They lived there 50 years.
They saw some hard times. Their daughter, May Bell Wallace, and her husband died of accidental carbon-monoxide poisoning while on vacation in 1981. And in February, their son Alvis Cox died of complications from lung cancer.
"I kind of think that was just more than they could take," Grimm said.
Last month, the couple moved into an Arlington nursing home. Mrs. Cox, who insisted on taking care of her husband, was going blind, the family said.
Last Thursday morning, the family was told that Mrs. Cox's heart problems were worsening and that she could die any day. That afternoon, Mr. Cox's health unexpectedly declined. That afternoon, with the couple's beds pushed together, Mr. Cox died.
Over the next five hours, Mrs. Cox lay on the nursing-home bed, unable to move.
Leaning close to her grandmother's ear, Williams whispered, "You know, Grannie, we're going to be OK. Paw and your children are waiting for you. It's OK. You can leave." Within minutes, she closed her eyes and was gone.
Memorials
The family asks that donations be made to Dallas Metro Ministries, P.O. Box 226624, Dallas, TX 75222
Published in Star-Telegram from April 3 to April 8, 2008
FORT WORTH -- The routine was familiar to the family and friends of J.C. and Josie Cox.
When the couple visited, they'd sit a spell and talk, perhaps for an hour, maybe two. Then, without saying a word, Mr. Cox would stand up, grab his hat and coat, and silently walk to the front door. It was his way of saying he was ready to go, and Mrs. Cox, his wife of 75 years, always followed.
Last week, at an Arlington nursing home, Mr. Cox, 100, clutching his wife's hand, died of complications from pneumonia. Five hours later, Mrs. Cox, 96, followed her husband. She had suffered from a heart condition.
"When he passed away he didn't say a lot, but he went and she went with him," said granddaughter Lesha Grimm, 47. "To me, he was saying to her, 'C'mon, let's go.'"
John Clay Cox was born June 30, 1907, in the little town of Star, about two hours southwest of Fort Worth. Josie May Cox was born June 3, 1911, in Big Spring.
They met at a baseball game and fell in love. They married on Christmas Day 1932. It was the Great Depression, but Mr. Cox always found work. The day after their wedding, they drove his truck from Star to Fort Worth to deliver a load of chickens, said granddaughter Marla Williamson, 53. The Coxes are survived by six grandchildren.
They moved to Fort Worth in 1954, when Mr. Cox found work as a crane operator and mechanic, Williamson said. The couple bought a two-bedroom wood-frame house in west Fort Worth for $4,800. They lived there 50 years.
They saw some hard times. Their daughter, May Bell Wallace, and her husband died of accidental carbon-monoxide poisoning while on vacation in 1981. And in February, their son Alvis Cox died of complications from lung cancer.
"I kind of think that was just more than they could take," Grimm said.
Last month, the couple moved into an Arlington nursing home. Mrs. Cox, who insisted on taking care of her husband, was going blind, the family said.
Last Thursday morning, the family was told that Mrs. Cox's heart problems were worsening and that she could die any day. That afternoon, Mr. Cox's health unexpectedly declined. That afternoon, with the couple's beds pushed together, Mr. Cox died.
Over the next five hours, Mrs. Cox lay on the nursing-home bed, unable to move.
Leaning close to her grandmother's ear, Williams whispered, "You know, Grannie, we're going to be OK. Paw and your children are waiting for you. It's OK. You can leave." Within minutes, she closed her eyes and was gone.
Memorials
The family asks that donations be made to Dallas Metro Ministries, P.O. Box 226624, Dallas, TX 75222
Published in Star-Telegram from April 3 to April 8, 2008
When the couple visited, they'd sit a spell and talk, perhaps for an hour, maybe two. Then, without saying a word, Mr. Cox would stand up, grab his hat and coat, and silently walk to the front door. It was his way of saying he was ready to go, and Mrs. Cox, his wife of 75 years, always followed.
Last week, at an Arlington nursing home, Mr. Cox, 100, clutching his wife's hand, died of complications from pneumonia. Five hours later, Mrs. Cox, 96, followed her husband. She had suffered from a heart condition.
"When he passed away he didn't say a lot, but he went and she went with him," said granddaughter Lesha Grimm, 47. "To me, he was saying to her, 'C'mon, let's go.'"
John Clay Cox was born June 30, 1907, in the little town of Star, about two hours southwest of Fort Worth. Josie May Cox was born June 3, 1911, in Big Spring.
They met at a baseball game and fell in love. They married on Christmas Day 1932. It was the Great Depression, but Mr. Cox always found work. The day after their wedding, they drove his truck from Star to Fort Worth to deliver a load of chickens, said granddaughter Marla Williamson, 53. The Coxes are survived by six grandchildren.
They moved to Fort Worth in 1954, when Mr. Cox found work as a crane operator and mechanic, Williamson said. The couple bought a two-bedroom wood-frame house in west Fort Worth for $4,800. They lived there 50 years.
They saw some hard times. Their daughter, May Bell Wallace, and her husband died of accidental carbon-monoxide poisoning while on vacation in 1981. And in February, their son Alvis Cox died of complications from lung cancer.
"I kind of think that was just more than they could take," Grimm said.
Last month, the couple moved into an Arlington nursing home. Mrs. Cox, who insisted on taking care of her husband, was going blind, the family said.
Last Thursday morning, the family was told that Mrs. Cox's heart problems were worsening and that she could die any day. That afternoon, Mr. Cox's health unexpectedly declined. That afternoon, with the couple's beds pushed together, Mr. Cox died.
Over the next five hours, Mrs. Cox lay on the nursing-home bed, unable to move.
Leaning close to her grandmother's ear, Williams whispered, "You know, Grannie, we're going to be OK. Paw and your children are waiting for you. It's OK. You can leave." Within minutes, she closed her eyes and was gone.
Memorials
The family asks that donations be made to Dallas Metro Ministries, P.O. Box 226624, Dallas, TX 75222
Published in Star-Telegram from April 3 to April 8, 2008
