Joseph "Joe" Cox

1936 - 2020

Joseph "Joe" Cox

Learned - Joseph "Joe" L. Cox of Learned, Mississippi passed away peacefully on June 26, 2020 at the age of 83.

Joe is survived by his loving wife of 51 years, Ann Birdsong Cox; his sisters Martha Cox Travis (Aubrey), of Magnolia, Lynda Cox Robertson (Roger) of Townsend, TN; his children, Susan Cox Eklund (Greg) of Florence, Nancy Cox of Raymond, Jeff Cox of Canton and Megann Cox Mosley of Learned; his grandchildren Jay Eklund (Lauren) of Florence, Emily Ready (Adrian) of Florence, Suzanne Cox of Raymond, Michaela Claypool of Hattiesburg, Leslie Claypool of Hattiesburg, Molly Mosley of Learned and Jenna Mosley of Learned. Mr. Cox is also survived by five great-grandchildren.

Mr. Cox is also survived by Ms. Hertecene Lodge, of Edwards, who has cared for the Cox children and worked with his family since the mid-1960s. Joe had a love of golden retrievers and is also survived by his faithful companion, Ms. Puddin.

Joe was born on October 4th, 1936, in Bolton, Mississippi, to Mattie Jolly Cox and Raymond W. Cox, both preceding him in death. Also preceding him in death was his wife, Rene Thornton Cox and brother, Tommy Ray Cox.

In 1969, Joe married Ann, to whom he was devoted to for over fifty years. In addition to Joe's children with his late wife, they had two children together then were blessed with seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mr. Cox began working in the construction business at age 18 and later established Birdsong Construction Company with his brother-in-law and business partner, Nick Birdsong. Joe's son Jeff began working with him at a young age and now is at the helm of Birdsong Construction. Through his work in the construction world, Joe developed life-long friendships with many of his employees, colleagues and customers. Joe was known for being direct in business matters, but also for his kindness and generosity to others.

Joe was a long-time member of Karnac Hunting Club where he spent his leisure time hunting deer, riding horses, socializing and spending time with his family. Upon retirement, Joe's favorite pastime was drinking coffee with his friends at Obie's. Much of the remainder of his retirement, Mr. Cox enjoyed working on his farm as well as spending time with his wife and family.

Visitation will be held from 9am-12pm on Monday, June 29th at Birdsong Construction Company located at 1010 Industrial Drive, Clinton, Mississippi, 39056. Following visitation, graveside services will be held at 1pm at the Bolton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to One Hope, a center for special needs adults located at 100 Castlewoods Blvd., Brandon, MS, 39047. Mr. and Mrs. Cox have supported the mission of One Hope for many years now as they have a granddaughter that participates in the program.