Leo Alfred Cox, park superintendent and conservationist, lost his life in an automobile accident on Oct. 9, 2000 at the age of 82.

Born on April 28, 1918 in Adamsville, Utah to noted wildlife conservationist George Wilfred Cox and his British mother Annie Kilner, Leo Cox demonstrated an early interest in the outdoors that would lead to his life-long career in conserv-ation.

He was educated in public schools in Midway, Utah (where his father had constructed the first of several fish hatcheries in the state) and Springville, Utah where he graduated from Springville High.

Some of his formative boyhood experiences occurred on the Elk Ranch, which his father managed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and which was later incorporated into Grand Teton National Park and at the Midway, Utah Fish Hatchery which his family constructed. His love for the outdoors was shared by his high school sweetheart, Rae Gabbitas, whom he later married.

After service in the Army Air Corps during World Ward II, Mr. Cox became a conservation officer with the Utah Fish and Game Department, and later a federal conservation officer for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He was deeply concerned about the declines in fish and wildlife populations, and was one of the early advocates for protection of migratory paths and critical habitat for deer and elk populations. His work in banding geese and ducks in Saskatchewan, Canada, and then in retrieving labels from wild fowl in Mexico became one of the foundations for mapping migratory flyways in North America.

Despite an exemplary career in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the lure of his home state of Utah led him to return for a stint as logistics manager at Hill Air Force base, and later as a small businessman in Provo, Utah. The outdoors was his love, however, and so he reentered conservation, first as a U. S. National Park Service ranger in Grand Teton National Park, and later as a park superintendent in the Utah State Park System. In Grand Teton, he pioneered the construction of trails in Death Canyon, living with his small family for extended periods in the wilderness. As a park superintendent, he developed Utah Lake State Park into an outstanding public recreation facility and later became the founding superintendent of Deer Creek State Park.

In his conservation work, Mr. Cox believed strongly that maintenance of game populations and appropriate hunting and fishing was supportive of conservation and that helping the public enjoy wholesome recreation would help protect a natural world he believed was created by our loving Heavenly Father. In this stance, he continued a family commitment to conservation begun by his grandfather, John Edwin Hyde Cox. He also completely supported the stellar career of his wife, Rae Gabbitas Cox, first as a scientist at the U. S. Fish Disease Lab, and later as area administrator for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. After losing Rae to breast cancer in 1984, he remarried Naomi Knight of Provo, Utah.

Cox was an extremely devoted father and husband and was known to all for his love, his humor, and his compassion for those in need. Many people owe their lives to this indefatigable ranger who rescued them from accidents and perils in the out of doors. He was also a devoted member and high priest of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had a deep faith in, and love for, his Savior.

He is survived by his wife, Naomi Knight Cox, of Provo, Utah; three children: David L. Cox of Sandy, Utah (spouse - Robyn); Patricia Rae Tuckey of Magna, Utah (spouse - Raymond); and Paul Alan Cox, of Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii and Provo, Utah (spouse - Barbara); seven grandchildren: Emily Ann Cox, Paul Matthew Cox, Mary Elizabeth Cox, Hilary Christine Cox, Jane Margaret Cox, Angie Reed, and Gil Reed; two sisters: Pearl Cox Wilkinson of Escondido, California, and Maxine Cox Stubblefield, of St. George, Utah, 24 adopted grandchildren and 11 adopted great-grandchildren.

Preceded in death by his wife, Rae Gabbitas Cox, his sister, Rose, and his brother, Bill Cox.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, Oct. 13, 2000 at 1 p.m. at the Edgemont Fifth Ward Chapel, 2950 No. 350 E., Provo. Friends and family may call at the Berg Mortuary, 185 E. Center Street, Provo, on Thursday, Oct. 12 between 6-8 p.m. or at the Chapel one hour prior to services on Fri.

Interment will be held at the Springville Evergreen Cemetery.

Published in the Deseret News on October 11, 2000