Lillian Cecile Cox

Lillian Cecile Cox, 86, born January 2, 1928, in Savannah, Georgia to James Alva and Florence Briggs; passed away November 28, 2014 at Graceland Senior Living, Pflugerville, Texas. Cecile and her siblings, Nita Griffin and Alva Briggs, spent many hours outdoors, climbing the big oak trees in their neighborhood, fishing, gathering oysters, crabbing and rowing on the Savannah River.

In 1944, while roller skating, she met a handsome young sailor who had hitchhiked down to Savannah from Charleston for some R&R. In February, 1946, Cecile married that sailor, David Cox, and in 1949, David and Cecile, with their first born, Bonnie, moved from Savannah to the Rio Grande Valley, where they had three more children, Frank, Davene and David. Big David for many years was a successful shrimper and while he was working offshore weeks at a time, Cecile kept the home front shipshape in Brownsville and later San Benito. In addition to rearing her children virtually alone, Cecile was a gifted gardener, a seamstress, creative craftswoman and, through her two youngest and the 4-H program, she became a farmer of sorts – tending to horses, calves and pigs. Cecile could be short-tempered at times and had a crooked index finger as a souvenir of the time she backhanded a Charolais calf that got in her way!

Widowed at the age of 63, Cecile continued to devote her life to her children. She also took care of others’ children through her work at various church daycare facilities in the Austin area. Unfortunately, she suffered from osteoporosis, resulting in a fractured hip, and in her later years, a fractured pelvis. Despite her frailties, Cecile remained mentally sharp with a fierce determination to be independent until early November when she fell and broke both her arms. At 86, even Cecile could not recover and she finally joined her Lord and Savior free of pain.

Cecile is predeceased by her parents, James and Florence Briggs, her sister, Nita Griffin and her husband, David Cox. She is survived by her brother Alva Briggs of Hallsville, MO; children Bonnie Lockhart (Gary) of Austin, TX; Franklin Cox of Corpus Christi; Davene LeBlanc (Don) of Denton, TX; and David Cox of Corpus Christi; grandchildren Jenny, Aimee, Michael, Josh, Anthony, Katie and Brandon; and great-grandchildren, Chase, MiKayla, John Patrick, Austen, Conor, Parker, Elswyth; many nieces, nephews and friends.

Her family expresses its deepest gratitude to the wonderful staff at Graceland Senior Living - Susan, Jeff, Shelby, America, Kim, Mikayla, Edna and Lucky, who all became part of Cecile’s extended family.

A celebration of Cecile’s life will be held in the Memorial Chapel of Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home on Saturday, January 3, 2015 at 3:30 pm. A reception will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Save the Children, MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital or The Wildflower Center of Austin.