Justin Lamar Cox Sr.

Justin Lamar Cox, Sr., 86, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, June 11, 2016. He was born on August 1, 1929 to James Oliver Cox, Sr. and his wife, Kathleen Sparkman Cox. He spent his childhood and young adult life in his hometown of Brandon, MS.

As a young man, he loved accompanying his father outdoors visiting various lumber tracts. His father was owner and founder of Sallis Lumber Company. All his young life, his ambition was to eventually run his father’s company. However, fate had other ideas when the company was sold in 1948 when he was 18 years old. It would be 12 more years before he decided on his chosen career.

In 1946, at the age of 16, he entered The University of Mississippi as an undergraduate and graduated 4 years later with a degree in business. He was also a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity. In 1953, he answered his country’s call to duty and enlisted in the Army during the Korean War. He was stationed at Fort Gordon, GA, where he was assigned to the Signal Corps/Intelligence branch of the Army. Upon his honorable discharge in 1955, he moved to Meridian, MS where he worked at Mississippi Valley Gas Company.

In 1957, he met the love of his life, Mary Elizabeth Delhommer. It was at a party when he spotted her while he was playing the piano...love at first site. The couple was married in April 1958.

Always having high ambitions, he applied to Ole Miss Law School in the spring of 1960 and was accepted for the fall 1960 semester. It was in law school where he called his fellow classmates “Hoss”. This rebounded on him and he was also named Hoss as a term of endearment by his classmates. His grandchildren always called him Hoss. He applied himself diligently and graduated with top honors. However, he wanted to specialize in a particular area of law. He in turn applied to New York University School of Taxation Law and was accepted for the fall semester of 1962. Prior to NYU, he also received his Master’s in Accounting at Ole Miss to help him prepare for the rigorous studies at NYU. He finished at the top of his class with a LLM degree in 1963.

He was offered several positions at prestigious law firms in the New York area. However, due to aging parents and his love for Mississippi, he accepted a position at the Wells and Wells Law Firm where he specialized in Wills and Estates. He was honored as one of Mississippi’s top lawyers in his field.

After several years at the Wells firm, he and several other fellow attorneys formed their own firm, Gerald, Brand Watters Cox and Hemleben where he was Senior Partner.

He had many other interests outside the practice of law. Some of which were travels in his motor homes to Destin, FL, Cotter, AR, and Durango, CO. One of his best adventures was to Alaska in the motor home. He also loved taking out his boat at Orange Beach, AL and deep sea fishing.

A truly gifted man, he loved music and could play the piano by ear...he never took lessons. He loved the Big Band era and had a sizable record collection.

He and his wife Mary continued to enjoy travel up until his moving to St. Catherine’s Village retirement home, where he has resided since August 2005.

He is survived by his children and grandchildren: James Oliver Cox, IV, and his wife, Hope, of Ridgeland, MS and their children, Nathanael Oliver Cox and Haley Kathleen Cox; Allyson Cox Davis and husband, Ricky Davis, of Madison, MS; Justin Lamar Cox, Jr. and wife, Colette, of Madison, MS and their children, Justin Lamar Cox, III “Trey” and his wife, Emily, Christopher Travis Cox, Adeline Grace Cox, and Maxwell Scott Smith. He also leaves behind a brother in Houston, TX, Robert Irving Cox, M.D., along with nieces, Carol Cox, Alice Cox, and nephew, Robert I. Cox, Jr.

The family would like to thank all the nurses and caregivers at St. Catherine’s for their care. They want to especially thank caregiver, Dee Williams for unselfishly giving of her time to tend to him. These past few weeks she comforted him with utmost care and prayed with him.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 pm Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at Parkway Funeral Home in Ridgeland and 9:00 to 10:00 am Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at Parkway Funeral Home. A funeral service will follow at 10:00 am Wednesday at Parkway Funeral Home’s chapel. Burial will be in Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland.

The family also asks that donations be made to M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030 and/or The Alzheimer’s Foundations Mississippi Chapter, 196 Charmant Drive, Suite 4, Ridgeland, MS 39157.