James Albert Cox Jr.

Born July 1, 1941 in Longview, Texas to James and Earla (Gatlin) Cox, “Jimmie” grew up near White Oak, Texas with his younger brother Charles. He excelled in school, where he played trombone in band, lettered in several sports, made all-district, state champion, and all-star teams, attended state-level academic competitions, was a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist, and graduated as his high school class valedictorian. A devoted Longhorn, Jim earned both a BBA (1963) and an MBA (1990) from the University of Texas at Austin. He was a member of honorary fraternities Beta Gamma Sigma and Beta Alpha Psi, Delta Upsilon social fraternity, and the prestigious service organization, Silver Spurs.

In late 1965, Jim joined the United States Army Reserve. He had six months of active duty that included Basic Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Advanced Training at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. A clerk typist, Jim was the honor graduate of his advanced training class. Following active duty, he completed six years of reserve duty.

Jim began his professional career in 1965 as a certified public accountant with Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte) in Houston. In late 1970, he was promoted to manager and transferred to the firm’s office in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was made a partner in 1974. In 1979, Jim resigned from Haskins & Sells upon accepting a position with one of his major clients, Summa Corporation (the Estate of Howard Hughes). During his time at Summa, Jim served as Executive Vice President and President of the Resorts and Aviation Groups, and oversaw the sale of Hughes Aircraft. Jim began a new phase of his life when he moved back to his beloved Austin in 1989. In 1990, he entered into a partnership with his brother, Charles, and formed Cox Bros., CPAs; after participating in establishing a successful practice, Jim accepted an offer from a client in 1995 and became president and CEO of Hydrolab Corporation.

Deeply committed to service and community, Jim was an active member of Tarrytown United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas, where he served on the finance committee, as a lay leader, and as a Sunday School teacher. He was also board chair of the Texas Methodist Foundation and lay director for Walk to Emmaus in 1998. Jim had the honor of serving as a governor-appointed member of both the Texas General Services Commission and as Chair of the Texas Lottery Commission. Jim also served Austin’s unhoused community for several years, was a member of the Travis County grand jury, and volunteered as a judge for Moot Corp at the University of Texas.

Jim had wide-ranging interests, including his love of art, music, travel, history, and sports. He was an accomplished tennis player and golfer, dog-lover, collector of Native American art, avid sports fan, and classical music and musical theater enthusiast. He enjoyed singing in the Tarrytown UMC choir, loved traveling with his family, and valued spending quality time with his friends. Jim’s adventurous spirit led him to many incredible experiences: riding as a member of Los Rancheros Visitadores; flying an F-15 Eagle; and hiking to Phantom Ranch at the base of the Grand Canyon.

In addition to his many accomplishments, Jim valued time with his family; nothing was more important to him. He met the love of his life, Catherine Maier, in 1966; the two married in July, 1970 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. Jim, affectionately known as “Big Jim” and “Papa”, is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Catherine, daughters Courtney (Carl, Harrison, Ellis) and Lindsay (Eric, Jonathan, Emerson, William, Lila), son Clinton, brother Charles, and numerous extended family members.

Jim’s celebration of life will be held Saturday, June 6, 2025 at Tarrytown United Methodist Church, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Austin Hospice’s Christopher House, Power for Parkinson’s, or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.