Melvin Orville Cox, 94, died Monday, November 22, 2004.
He was a quiet, unassuming man whose influence for good will be felt for generations.
He was born November 8, 1910 in Fairview, Utah to Ada Sirilla Howell and Vern Cox.
He was proud of his Sanpete County heritage and always enjoyed returning to his childhood home and the nearby mountains.
Melvin attended elementary school in Fairview and completed high school at North Sanpete High.
He was a good student but recalled climbing out the elementary school window when he found the lesson of the day unsatisfactory.
He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the East Central States, laboring in Kentucky before being introduced to his future wife, Edith Emma Beckstrand, who was attending Snow College in Ephraim.
It was love at first sight, and they married on March 10, 1933, in the Manti Temple.
Edith had returned to her home in Meadow, Utah, to teach school, and they managed only five meetings, mostly on holidays, before the wedding.
They lived in Fairview and Manti before moving to Salt Lake City in December 1937.
Melvin was a faithful and devoted church member and served in many callings, including bishoprics and high priest groups.
He was a ward clerk in three different wards.
He fulfilled home teaching duties and greeted members of the East Millcreek Ninth Ward as they arrived at Sacrament Meeting until the time of his death.
He and Edith had moved to the East Millcreek area in 1960 and enjoyed the association of many neighborhood friends.
In Manti, Melvin worked in the county clerk's office.
In Salt Lake, he held positions of responsibility with the Utah Department of Social Security (now the Department of Work Force Services) for 35 years and was admired by those with whom he worked.
He has maintained associations with colleagues, meeting regularly for luncheon gatherings.
Edith and Melvin served a mission at the Oakland Temple Visitors' Center from 1975 to 1977.
They were among the first guides at the Church Museum of History and Art and were ordinance workers at the Salt Lake Temple.
He loved all of these callings.
Melvin and Edith traveled widely in the United States and abroad.
After Edith's death in 2001, Melvin continued their practice of traveling with family members and rarely missed a birthday, baptism, graduation or wedding.
His family and his religious convictions were most important to him.
His grandchildren visited him frequently, and they loved him as much as he loved them. Several lived in the downstairs of the family home and added excitement to his life.
Melvin was the ultimate gardener.
Friends and family enjoyed his prize-winning tomatoes, and even casual passers-by commented on his beautiful rose garden.
His family particularly benefited from his ability to fix almost anything.
He managed to accumulate and recycle an amazing assortment of items that most people would have discarded as junk.
Melvin is survived by two daughters and their husbands, Sherilyn (Ben) Bennion, Salt Lake City, and JoLynn (Gayle) Warner, Cedar City; a son-in-law, Jerry Watts, Murray; a brother-in-law, Orrin B. Beckstrand, Bountiful; 16 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Edith; three sisters; three brothers; and a daughter, Gayle Gregory Watts.
Funeral services for Melvin will be held on Saturday, November 27, 2004, at 11 a.m. at the East Millcreek Ninth Ward Chapel, 3750 S. Hillside Lane (2600 East).
Friends may call at Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 S. 2300 E., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday evening and on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. prior to the services.
Interment will be at the Meadow City Cemetery, Meadow UT, after a brief graveside service at 3 p.m.
Funeral Directors: Holbrook Mortuary.
Published in the Deseret News on 11/25/2004
Melvin Orville Cox, 94, died Monday, November 22, 2004.
He was a quiet, unassuming man whose influence for good will be felt for generations.
He was born November 8, 1910 in Fairview, Utah to Ada Sirilla Howell and Vern Cox.
He was proud of his Sanpete County heritage and always enjoyed returning to his childhood home and the nearby mountains.
Melvin attended elementary school in Fairview and completed high school at North Sanpete High.
He was a good student but recalled climbing out the elementary school window when he found the lesson of the day unsatisfactory.
He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the East Central States, laboring in Kentucky before being introduced to his future wife, Edith Emma Beckstrand, who was attending Snow College in Ephraim.
It was love at first sight, and they married on March 10, 1933, in the Manti Temple.
Edith had returned to her home in Meadow, Utah, to teach school, and they managed only five meetings, mostly on holidays, before the wedding.
They lived in Fairview and Manti before moving to Salt Lake City in December 1937.
Melvin was a faithful and devoted church member and served in many callings, including bishoprics and high priest groups.
He was a ward clerk in three different wards.
He fulfilled home teaching duties and greeted members of the East Millcreek Ninth Ward as they arrived at Sacrament Meeting until the time of his death.
He and Edith had moved to the East Millcreek area in 1960 and enjoyed the association of many neighborhood friends.
In Manti, Melvin worked in the county clerk's office.
In Salt Lake, he held positions of responsibility with the Utah Department of Social Security (now the Department of Work Force Services) for 35 years and was admired by those with whom he worked.
He has maintained associations with colleagues, meeting regularly for luncheon gatherings.
Edith and Melvin served a mission at the Oakland Temple Visitors' Center from 1975 to 1977.
They were among the first guides at the Church Museum of History and Art and were ordinance workers at the Salt Lake Temple.
He loved all of these callings.
Melvin and Edith traveled widely in the United States and abroad.
After Edith's death in 2001, Melvin continued their practice of traveling with family members and rarely missed a birthday, baptism, graduation or wedding.
His family and his religious convictions were most important to him.
His grandchildren visited him frequently, and they loved him as much as he loved them. Several lived in the downstairs of the family home and added excitement to his life.
Melvin was the ultimate gardener.
Friends and family enjoyed his prize-winning tomatoes, and even casual passers-by commented on his beautiful rose garden.
His family particularly benefited from his ability to fix almost anything.
He managed to accumulate and recycle an amazing assortment of items that most people would have discarded as junk.
Melvin is survived by two daughters and their husbands, Sherilyn (Ben) Bennion, Salt Lake City, and JoLynn (Gayle) Warner, Cedar City; a son-in-law, Jerry Watts, Murray; a brother-in-law, Orrin B. Beckstrand, Bountiful; 16 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Edith; three sisters; three brothers; and a daughter, Gayle Gregory Watts.
Funeral services for Melvin will be held on Saturday, November 27, 2004, at 11 a.m. at the East Millcreek Ninth Ward Chapel, 3750 S. Hillside Lane (2600 East).
Friends may call at Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 S. 2300 E., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday evening and on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. prior to the services.
Interment will be at the Meadow City Cemetery, Meadow UT, after a brief graveside service at 3 p.m.
Funeral Directors: Holbrook Mortuary.
Published in the Deseret News on 11/25/2004
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