Frank William "Paco" Cox

Frank William Cox, or Paco, as his friends called him, was born in Racine, Wisconsin on January 29, 1942, to Margaret Kemen Cox and Hugh Edward Cox. He had an older sister Joan, a younger brother Hugh (Skip) and a younger sister, Mary Jane. Paco graduated from Marquette University in 1964 and continued to take master’s classes. His idealism and passion for serving others led him to join the Peace Corps where he spent two years in Maracaibo, Venezuela. There he created a YMCA club where boys could learn, play sports and find purpose in their young lives. For recreation, he played baseball for the University of Zulia and once pitched a perfect game. Paco returned to Maracaibo four times, every ten years after his first assignment, and he stayed in contact with his mentees.

After two years in the Peace Corps, he returned to Wisconsin and married lovely Virginia They were blessed with four wonderful children, two boys and two girls. Paco taught Spanish at Marquette High School, a Jesuit school, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He later moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona where Brophy College Preparatory hired him right away. Paco worked at Brophy for 28 years before he retired in 2007. He is considered a legend among his students, who say that they not only learned Spanish from “El Senor”, but they also learned a lot of life lessons. Brophy teaches students to be “Men for Others”, and Paco modeled that philosophy in his life. Paco’s distinctive teaching style ensured his classes were always both instructive and entertaining.

In 1986 he and Virginia were divorced. In 1991 he began to date Carol Cox, a Spanish teacher at All Saints Episcopal Day School. In 1994 he married Carol and became a caring stepfather to Carol’s children, Mark and Steve, who had daughters, Lily, Avery and Quinn. In the summertime for the next twenty-two years, they visited different Central and South American countries for four or five weeks at a time. They had endless adventures, including visiting the Ecuadorian Amazon for a week, staying in a village in the Panamanian Darien and getting acquainted with the Aborigines in Darwin, Australia. Carol and Paco were married for thirty-one years. Paco is survived by his brother Hugh Edward Cox, children Janeen Woods, Lori Carver, Jeff Cox and Doug Cox, and his former wife Virginia. His grandchildren are Jill Woods, Hank Woods and Sam Woods, Garrett Carver, Claire Carver and Griffen Carver, Madeline Cox, Vivian Cox, and Camille Cox. 

A Celebration of Life Mass will be held at Brophy Preparatory Chapel on June 7 at 10:00, located at 4701 N Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85012.

Following the Mass, at 11:30, there will be a reception at All Saints’ Episcopal Church Manning Hall, located at 6300 N Central Avenue, Phoenix 85012.