Ken was born in Sayer, Oklahoma and relocated to Woodville, California as a young boy. Ken was the oldest of three children and was a hard worker from the time he was small. He began helping the field hands work in the cotton fields when he was three years old. As he grew, he moved to working in the asparagus fields and later, in the potato fields. When he was sixteen, Ken joined the California Department of Forestry.
Ken graduated from Porterville High School in 1951. Following high school, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he served for 3 years. He then attended California State University, Fresno where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and later attended University of Southern California and obtained an advanced master’s degree in school psychology. Ken worked as a teacher and then a school psychologist for Central Unified School District for 37 years and spent his summers selling crop insurance for the Federal Government.
In 1963, Ken met the love of his life, Lynn. They married January 15, 1966 and were married for almost 56 years. Later, Ken became a wonderful father to his two children and a loving papa to his 8 grandchildren. He lived in the Fresno area for 57 years.
Ken was a linguist for fun and had an incredible gift of learning various languages. He spoke fluent Spanish and Italian also studied Portuguese, German, French and Hmong. Reading dictionaries in both English and other languages was one of his favorite pastimes. He was also an avid learner and enjoyed reading old textbooks. Ken could often be found walking in his free time, and would often walk 5-10 miles a day. He made many friends chuckle when they would spot him walking miles away from home. He is remembered for his sense of humor and often had a joke or funny story to tell.
Ken is preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Nula Cox; and his sister, Verda Cox.
Ken is survived by his wife, Lynn Cox; his daughter and son in law, Kendra and Kevin Barcelos, and their children, Lauren, Elizabeth, Sara, Megan, Anna and Chloe Barcelos; his son and daughter in law, Brian and Icela Cox, and children, Akayla and Trevor Cox; his brother and wife, Darrel and Lupe Cox, and 2 nieces and a nephew.
A Graveside Service for Kenneth will be held Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Clovis Cemetery, 305 North Villa Avenue, Clovis, California 93612.
Contributions in Kenneth's memory may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital , 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, https://www.stjude.org
or
Fresno First Church of the Nazarene, 6758 East Butler Avenue, Fresno, California 93727, https://www.fresnonaz.com.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.boicefuneralhome.com for the Cox family.
