Darlene Belle Cox

1931 - 2024

Darlene Belle Cox

Darlene Belle Cox passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 93 on September 15, 2024. A devout Christian, it's fitting that she would go to be with her Lord on a beautiful Sunday morning. Born in a Webster, SD hospital on March 26, 1931, Darlene was the eldest daughter of Edwin and Olga Stadsklev's six children (2 of whom died in infancy). She was raised with her 3 sisters on her parents' farm south of Andover. An artistic soul, Darlene wrote many poems about her life on the farm. Poems about fresh fallen snow, playing in her tree house, swinging in the hay loft, milking the cows by hand, the secret meaning of a spinning windmill, and walking the ½ mile dirt road to the one-room schoolhouse where she and her sisters attended primary school.

Darlene went to high school in the nearby town of Bristol. A family friend rented rooms to young ladies living on farms in the surrounding country. The girls slept 3 to a bed, cooked on a two-burner kerosene stove, used an outdoor toilet, and bathed just once a week. Darlene was a quiet teenager and enjoyed singing, playing piano, and roller skating with friends. In 1949 Darlene completed a 10-week course and received a teaching certificate from Northern State Teachers College. She taught school in the one-room schoolhouse she had attended as a girl.

Bristol high school is where Darlene met her husband of 59 years, Derald (Derry) Cox. He was a year older and joined the Navy after graduation. Derry and Dolly (as he playfully called her) wrote many letters over his time in the Navy and went on just a handful of dates before getting married in a small church ceremony on Good Friday, April 3, 1953. Upon Derry's Navy discharge, the couple moved to Rapid City, where they had their first son, and then to Brookings where they had 2 more. In June of 1957, Derry got a job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the couple moved several more times and had several more sons. They raised their boys on the Standing Rock and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations before finally settling in Albuquerque, NM in 1966 when Derry was transferred to the BIA Southwest Region. The Cox family made Albuquerque their home. They became members of Faith Lutheran Church and established roots. Although Darlene never returned to teaching school, she taught piano for many years including at Bear Canyon Senior Center until 2018.

A full-blooded Norwegian, Darlene came across as stoic, strict, and reserved. But she was also kind, forgiving, loyal, and could be unexpectedly funny. She didn't laugh often but when she did her laughter was contagious. Darlene was an artist in every sense of the word. She was a prolific writer of poetry, a gifted painter, a talented pianist, and sang in her church choir for decades. "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and I shall feast at the table spread for me; Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days, all the days of my life!"

Darlene is preceded in death by her parents, 3 sisters, her grandson Isaiah, and her loving husband Derry. She is survived by her six sons David (Donna) of Charlotte, NC, Ricky (Carolina) of Arlington, TX, Loren (Carol) of Edgewood, NM, Danny (Pam) of Corrales, NM, Robin (Garnet) and Kevin (Charly) of Albuquerque, NM. 11 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren.

Darlene will be remembered in a ceremony on Saturday, September 21st, 2024, 11am at Faith Lutheran Church. She will be cremated and placed in the Faith Lutheran Columbarium next to her beloved Derry.