Joe D. Kocks M.D.

Joe Darryl Kocks was born at home in Charlie, Texas on August 19, 1935, the third of four children born to Otto and Vera Kocks. The family moved to Dallas in the early 1940’s where Joe started his education in the Catholic schools. He was a proud graduate of the Jesuit High School and carried a lifetime love of learning, logic and faith. During his high school years, he was a leader of his classmates, extremely active in sports, music, and the Catholic church.

He attended college at North Texas State where he continued to pursue academic excellence and a variety of extracurricular activities including some singing and playing the guitar on the “Big D Jamboree” Dallas radio program. He modestly shared in later years that he even played with his fellow fraternity brother, Pat Boone, of country music fame. His efforts in Denton paid off as he graduated early and earned admission to UTMB medical school in Galveston.

It was while he was in Galveston that this “most eligible bachelor on the island” set his sights on the prettiest nurse on the island, a Miss Mary Ann Crutchfield. He always said that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and he unwaveringly maintained that belief his entire life. They married in 1961. During this time, Joe joined the National Guard but was subsequently called to serve in the US Air Force. While stationed in Wichita Falls, he earned his Captain’s bars, his pilot’s license and, best of all, a beautiful baby boy, Joe Jr.

Joe, Sr. and Mary Ann moved back to Galveston so that Joe could finish his residency and welcome son Michael into the world. Ultimately, Joe and Mary Ann settled in a sleepy little town named Austin in the early 1960s where Joe became the 6th Anesthesiologist in town. They welcomed their next 4 children, Mary, Matthew, Karen and Chris into the world and bought a house for the extravagant price of just under $40,000 in a nearby little community called Westlake in the Eanes ISD. Never one to forget the value of an education, Joe served over 13 years on the Eanes ISD school board (twice serving as the President). And all 6 of his children were K-12 attendees of the Eanes ISD schools. Some of the schools even carry his name on the dedication plaques at their front doors.

But he was, if nothing else, a child of God. During the early 1980’s, Joe, Mary Ann and a handful of dedicated Catholics actively sought, supported, and accomplished the goal of getting a Catholic church in the growing community of Westlake. And although St. John Neumann has moved many times since its inception in a school cafeteria to the final spot we are in today, for Joe, God always had a home in him.

He was a quiet man. He had a deep love of his wife, children, and six grandchildren. He worked hard his entire life to be what he believed God wanted him to be. He will be missed but he is at peace with his Father.

A viewing for Joe will be held Thursday, April 3, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM at St. John Neumann, 5455 Bee Caves Rd, West Lake Hills, TX 78746. A recitation of the holy rosary will occur at 10:00 AM, and a funeral mass will occur Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 11:00 AM, 5455 Bee Caves Rd, West Lake Hills, TX 78746. An entombment will occur Thursday, April 3, 2025 at Assumption Cemetery, 3650 S IH 35, Austin, Texas 78704.