Christopher Gary COX

COX, EDLIN, DENNIS, KLYSEN, AUSTIN, SAUL, GROENWOLD

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/29/2013 at 12:17:23

March 7, 1974 ---- March 24, 2013

BELMOND — Christopher G. Cox, 39, of Belmond, a longtime employee of Fareway Food Stores throughout Iowa, most recently store manager of Fareway Foods-Belmond, died unexpectedly Sunday, March 24, 2013, at his home in Belmond. Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Friday, March 29, at the Belmond United Methodist Church, 1031 1st Street S.E., Belmond. The Reverend Cindy Morrison will be officiating. Burial will be in the Belmond Cemetery. Visitation will be on Thursday from 4-8 p.m. at the Andrews Funeral Home, 516 1st St. S.E., Belmond, and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church Friday. Those wishing to express their sympathies may mail cards and memorials in care of the family to P.O. Box 224, Belmond, IA 50421. Contributions will be used to establish college education funds for Chris’s daughters.

Christopher Gary Cox, the son of Gary M. and Jennifer I. (Edlin) Cox, was born March 7, 1974, at Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego, Calif. He was baptized in the Catholic Faith at the Catholic Church, Ellsworth, and confirmed at the Catholic Church in Iowa Falls. Chris attended Estherville Community Schools and later Iowa Falls Community Schools, graduating with the Class of 1992. During his school years he was active in a variety of extracurricular activities. Chris’ life-long love of sports and his competitive spirit were born early on and continued to blossom throughout his life. Whether it was time on the athletic field, on the dirt track or on the links of countless golf courses, Chris had a yearning and desire to be the best at whatever activity he was participating in at the time. He was always looking to better himself and the competition. He loved the adrenaline rush of dirt track racing and was known to have the gas pedal hammered to the floor the entire race. Christopher was the third generation of a long history of Cox family race car drivers.

Chris looked forward to the camaraderie of the hunting party and enjoyed the pulse-quickening burst that would happen as he and his family and friends made their way through the timber in pursuit of whitetail deer. He absolutely loved the outdoors.

Chris truly enjoyed times on the golf course, be it a quiet time strolling the fairways alongside the love of his life, Katie, as they enjoyed their time together in this mutually loved activity, or the oftentimes more spirited golf outings with his countless friends on the links as they tried to one-up one another. He relished each and every opportunity to spend time with others. Chris was all about fun and loved to tease others. It wasn’t uncommon for him to crank up his golf cart tunes when a buddy was playing on another hole. Chris always wanted to make the lives of others better and brighter. He strived to put the needs of others before his own. His vision of life, love for his fellow man and the world around him was boundless. This wonderful characteristic was truly a gift that made him the man that he was, an awesome trait that will be one of the greatest legacies he will leave in the memories of others.

Chris was united in marriage to Kathryn Marie Dennis on Oct. 25, 1997, at the United Methodist Church, Ackley. Their union was blessed with two beautiful daughters, Kylie and Emma. His three ladies were the most precious things in his life.

Chris, yearning to manage his own grocery store, commenced at age 16 when he started his employment at the local Fareway Store in Iowa Falls. This career journey evolved over the next 23 years of his life as he climbed the ladders of the company through seven different store locations, including Iowa Falls, Atlantic, Perry, Eldora, Boone and Muscatine before his present management position in Belmond, where he and his family landed just short of four years ago.

Chris and Katie never looked at their frequent moves as anything other than a new adventure and a chapter in their lives. Each move brought new friends and challenges and left strong bonds with the countless friends they made along the way of Chris’ career path.

Chris and Katie, along with their daughters, Kylie and Emma, were excited to become a part of not only the Fareway family in Belmond but to become a part of the community and region as a whole as Chris’ new professional role brought them new-found comfort and closer. Chris’ outgoing personality and strong leadership skills allowed him to meld right into the family and framework of the Fareway Store in Belmond. Chris believed in a strong work ethic and was not afraid to put in the effort and time to make the store better for his employees and their customers. He instilled the values of customer service in a warm and friendly environment in those who worked around him. He was always the first one to greet them when they came to work and would always find a moment to say hello and welcome the customers into the store, the majority of whom he knew by name.

Chris was not one to just leave things status quo as he was always envisioning what service or product they could add to the store to make it better. He was very much looking forward to making the Belmond store his final stop on his career journey and wanted to finish his career in Belmond.

Chris was very much a community-minded man who felt it was very important to give of his time, energies and knowledge to whatever organizations he was involved in. He had recently completed his tenure as president of the Belmond Area Chamber Board of Directors, where he had brought many new thoughts and ideas to the organization. Chris and Katie both shared a passion for Belmond-Klemme Schools and were serving on the B-K Booster Klub Board. Chris’ passion for golf and his and Katie’s love of the game along with their Belmond Country Club friends also found Chris giving of himself in his new-found role as president of the Country Club Board. He was also a part of the Belmond Bowling Association. Throughout his years in his various communities, Chris was involved in each one if different ways.

Though Chris spent a great deal of hours and time in his professional career role, nothing was more precious in his life than the times spent with his life partner and the love of his life, Katie, and in his role of being Dad to Kylie and Emma. No matter how busy he was at the store he would always make time to attend their extracurricular activities being there as a proud cheerleader for them both. Chris and Katie loved to spend time with the girls and just simply hanging out as a family. Chris loved to take Katie out on “date night” and cherished their times together. He looked forward to family vacations as well as vacation trips with friends. He and Katie had just recently returned from a trip to Vegas and he was anxiously anticipating an early spring golf excursion to Kansas City with some close buddies in the weeks ahead. He looked forward to going to the Iowa Hawks football games, and in more recent times with so many of his friends being Cyclones fans Chris became somewhat of a convert. He was an avid Minnesota Vikings and Twins fan as well. Chris’ love of sports showed in his daily routine of checking in with “Sports Center,” hanging out on Saturday nights in his “man cave” filled with sports memorabilia and visiting with his buddies about last night’s ball games and their outcomes. His love for the Vikes will be remembered by his family and friends for the ring of their fight song filling the air every time his cell phone rang.

Having just celebrated his 39th birthday, one of his most proud moments was having his daughter Kylie join him as an employee at the Fareway Store the day of his birthday. His smile was as long as the aisles in the grocery store.

To say he was just a “people person” would be an understatement. People were his life, whether it was his employees, his customers, his family or his friends. If one looked up the definition of a “people person extraordinaire,” Chris Cox would be the ultimate.

He and Katie loved to have friends and their kids over to hang out. Chris just thrived and was so comfortable around others. He loved to spend time in the backyard playing bean bags with his family, throwing a steak on the grill or just relaxing over a “Dewka.” Chris will be remembered for his quips and sayings, such as “How about them apples!”, “His Six Ps” and for numerous other mottos. The one he lived by the most may have been “Work Hard & Play Harder!” As hard as he worked, his playing hard meant that Chris would have been a “Superstar!” Those who had the privilege of crossing in Chris Cox’s “Life Journey” will remember his warm and welcoming personality, his friendly and welcoming smile and the twinkle in his eyes, his willingness to serve the needs of others and to put their needs before his own, his boundless ambition, and of course his undying love for his family.

His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of his wife and life partner, Katie Cox, and their two precious daughters, Kylie and Emma Cox, at home with their mother in Belmond; his parents, Gary and Jennifer Cox, Webster City; sisters, Stacey (Tom) Klysen and their children McKayla and Maddie, Montevideo, Minn., and Laura (Terry) Austin, Stratford. Also, Chris’ mother- and father-in-law, Joe (Teresa) Dennis, Wellsburg; brothers- and sisters-in-law, Joedy (Malena) Dennis and their kids, Damon, Scott and Joebie, Alden, and Jesse (Kristi) Dennis and their children, Tristen and Landen, Wellsburg; extended family members, Ken (Deb) Saul and their family, Wellsburg, and Pam Groenwold and her children, Carlisle; and cousins and countless friends and acquaintances. He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents and great-grandparents. Andrews Funeral Homes, Belmond, IA.

March 28, 2013
Mason City Globe Gazette - Iowa