Madene Cox

Freeda Madene Cox, 91, loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother, died February 18 at home in Bakersfield.

A native Californian, Madene, as she preferred to be called, grew up in Bakersfield and became the quiet matriarch of her own family and the one she married into.

Madene was born January 17, 1935, in Pasadena, to Freed Powell and Mary Blackmon Powell, shortly after the Powells moved from West Texas to Southern California.

In 1944, the Powell family, which also included younger son Donald, moved to Bakersfield and settled into a one-bedroom house in the La Cresta neighborhood. "Madene and I slept in the living room, her on a bed and me in a crib," said Don Powell. The family later bought a home on Jeffrey Street. Madene attended Hawthorne, Emerson, and Washington schools, and East High School, where she was a good student and majorette.

Madene was a strong, often stoic woman, a calming influence who saw that things that needed doing got done. It was a trait she developed growing up in an often-turbulent home. "She had nobody to lean on at home. She carried the load," Donald Powell said.

In 1952 she married Bryan Cox and they embarked on a 71-year journey together until his death in April 2024. The couple built a life, raised four children, and Madene played a vital role in their successful horse breeding and training ventures. Madene was close with her mother-in-law, Jessie Barrett Cox. Upon Jessie's death in 1988, Madene took on the role of organizing Cox family events and gatherings and looking after members of the extended family.

In 1959, Bryan and Madene bought 2.5 acres with a small house a mile north of Lamont on Mt. View Road. Their children attended Lamont schools, with Madene serving as the family driver and often room mother for their classes. An avid reader herself, she frequently hauled the kids to the Lamont Public Library.

Madene, who took bookkeeping classes in high school and later at Bakersfield College, was deeply involved in managing the financial side of the horse business. She worked for one year at Kern General Hospital, and for years managed the office for the business of son Bruce Cox.

After her own children married, Madene immersed herself in grandparenting, frequently supervising and feeding several kids at a time in her own home. She was a devoted member of the Church of Christ.

Madene is survived by her children: Bob Cox and wife, Sharon, of Arlington, Texas; Bruce Cox and wife, Madaline, of Bakersfield; Laurie Fanjul and husband, David, of Oakdale; and Brenda Tremaine and husband, Bob, of Bakersfield; and 11 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

She is also survived by her beloved brother Donald Powell, and his wife, Vivian of Bakersfield.

A Celebration of Life will be held 12 noon Thursday, March 5, in the Kern Room at Hodel's Country Dining, 5917 Knudsen Drive, in Bakersfield. The family requests anyone wishing to honor Madene's memory consider donating to Hoffman Hospice of Bakersfield.