Edwin Richard Cox

Edwin Richard Cox passed away peacefully at home in beautiful St. George, Utah with his loving wife at his side on October 4, 2025.

Born on August 4, 1949, Richard grew up in Cedar City, Utah and enjoyed exploring, building forts, hunting jackrabbits, and getting into mischief with his friends. He loved hiking and exploring in nearby Zion National Park and loved to tell stories about the many times he climbed Lady Mountain with his siblings (especially the time Doug climbed it with a broken arm). Richard was very active in Scouting during what can only be described as the golden age of Scouting. He hiked the Grand Canyon, the Zion Narrows and the West and East Rim of Zion multiple times with his troop. He was always proud of being part of a troop that awarded 15 Eagle Scout ranks at one Court of Honor. This was before merit badge factories and canned Eagle Projects (no offense to all us post-1970's Eagle Scouts).

Shortly after his Latter-day Saint mission to Southern California, Richard met Andrea Hughes at Pickett's lumber store in St. George after several nudges from his father. After a lengthy courtship of one week, they were engaged and married in the St. George temple 3 months later (spoiler alert: They are still married). Richard began studying engineering at College of Southern Utah, but the pressures of family life after the arrival of his first son 10 months after his marriage caused him to drop out of school to work full time. We won't say that Richard carefully planned his life decisions–which made for an adventure but also showcased his ability to work hard and make the best of any situation.

Getting started, he found employment at a new company in Cedar City: Morton Metalcraft. He helped build the facility and quickly showed great technical aptitude and rose quickly to become a manufacturing engineer. He was always proud of learning to do math with a slide rule and programming NC code for punch press machines using mylar tape. As technology advanced, he stayed on the leading edge and quickly became proficient at CAD, CNC and handheld calculators (he was a passionate HP RPN guy, if anyone is wondering). As his career developed, he was respected by his coworkers for his technical ability and sense of humor. His career took him to Tonka Toys in El Paso, TX, Eagle Wings Industries in Rantoul, IL, Crane Carrier Company in Tulsa, OK, and Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing in Tooele, UT.

After retirement, he found great pleasure in woodworking, rock hounding, jewelry making, 3D printing, Fox News watching, and online shopping (much to Andrea's dismay).

Richard was a good father and teacher and often admitted to his kids, "We don't know what we're doing", and he proved it often using his mistakes (especially financial ones) as cautionary tales. Despite this, he always seemed to be so wise and taught his children to consider other points of view–if for nothing else than to make a good story. One of his most often-repeated phrases after telling a story about telling a story was "...and then everybody laughed" (if you know, you know). On his death bed, some of his last words were, "I want to go to Maverik and get a drink". None of us were really sure if he was joking or not–which pretty much sums up his sense of humor (His daughter-in-law, Marcy, quipped, "Adventure's Last Stop" then everybody laughed).

Richard was a descendent of many Utah pioneers and embraced his heritage and stayed true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ all of his life. He served in many ways: as a missionary, a youth advisor, a teacher and leader, and in the temple. He never loved home teaching or home teachers, so there was always some room for improvement, but he was willing to help when needed and was happy to share his testimony. People often commented on how much they enjoyed his Sunday School lessons or Sacrament Meeting talks.

He is preceded in death by his parents Edwin Charles "Ted" Cox, and Mary LaVerle Sorensen; his sister, Sandra (Lewis); and brother, Doug. He is survived by his loving wife, Andrea Hughes; his children: Sean (Marcy) Cox, Kelli (John) Jardine, Curtis (Steve Cohen) Cox, Chris (Michelle Windsor) Cox, Erin (Brad) Wall; and 21 grandchildren; as well as two sisters: Barbara Hoag and Kathryn (James) Jensen.

The family expresses heartfelt gratitude to the nurses (especially Chloe and Brianna) at Dixie Hospice for their compassionate care over the past few weeks.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., with a viewing prior from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at the St. George East Stake Center located at 449 South 300 East. Interment will follow in Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 South Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah.

Those unable to attend are invited to view the services at the following link: Livestream

To send a flower arrangement in memory of Edwin Richard Cox, please click here to visit our sympathy store.