William Alvin Cox passed away January 29th, 2019 from his earthly home at the age of 84. He will be dearly missed by family and friends here in mortality, but welcomed home and celebrated in Heaven. He is preceded in death by his loving wife Joyce Cox, parents Carl and Nettie Cox, and granddaughter Kayce Cox.
He leaves a legacy of loving children Dan (Cynthia), Clint, Bert (Natalie), Bill (Jodie), and Ryan (Katie). Al and Joyce were blessed with fourteen loving grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and many more to come. Al will be missed by his brothers Ray and Dick (Phyllis) as well as many nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors.
Al was born in Cedar City, Utah and was raised on the family farm in Hamilton Fort, Utah. His experiences on the farm created a lifelong passion for showing sheep, rodeo, and other 4-H activities. Upon graduating Cedar High School, he attended Utah State University on a livestock judging and rodeo scholarship.
During this time, he was drafted into the United States Army where he served for two years. Following his service to our country, Al moved to McGill Nevada where he began working at Kennecott Copper. He later moved to Panaca where he would not only settle and raise his family, but would also begin his 30 years of service for Union Pacific Railroad.
Al was always known for being a hard worker. The most common phrase from his coworkers was it took two people to outwork one Al. He was never one to sit idle, he had to be doing something.
During the springtime he was often called upon to sheer the local flocks of sheep around the county and shoe a few horses. When he wasn’t doing this, you would find him in the middle of an arena judging rodeo rough stock events and livestock shows. Once in awhile he would become part of the show when he wasn’t quick enough to get out of the way of a bull or two.
Although Al loved these things, his true passion was helping kids care for and show their animals. He spent countless hours helping trim, wash and prepare show lambs for kids to compete with. He quite often donated lambs to kids who needed them and taught many life lessons throughout this process.
There are generations of kids today in Lincoln county that have personally been influenced by Al’s generous service. Finally, Al’s greatest legacy that he leaves behind is his family. He instilled in his five boys values such as hard work, kindness, service, and love.
His sense of humor was constant and buoyed him up through his trials at the end. Despite his health challenges, he was always courteous to others and had a twinkle in his eyes. He loved people and hated being alone.
The family would like to thank all the staff and caretakers at the Abbington Senior Living Facility. Thank you for sharing your talents and making such a difference in Al’s life. He participated in every activity and was the beneficiary of countless acts of kindness and service from residents and staff.
Your love and thoughtfulness will always be remembered. A celebration of Al’s life will be held on Saturday, February 9th at the Panaca LDS Church. The viewing will be from 9:00-10:30am, followed by a program from 10:45am-12:15pm.
Interment graveside services will follow at 12:30-1:00 pm at the Panaca Cemetery located at Panaca Memorial Park. There will be a light family lunch directly afterwards at the church.
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