Carolyn Smith Cox

Carolyn Smith Cox, 83, passed away peacefully at the end of a well-lived life on February 4, 2015 in Memphis, Tennessee. Born in Tippah County, Mississippi, Carolyn was such a beautiful young lady that she even won a dress worn by the biggest star of the day as first prize in a Shirley Temple look alike contest.

Later, she worked with Sears for over thirty years, retiring as a manager. She was a funny and feisty woman who played in a bowling league into her 80s. She is famous in her family for quips that may be unprintable in these pages, but will be remembered always. A fine southern woman, she was a member of the Collierville United Methodist Church. She was a world traveler with favorite stops in Austria, Switzerland and Hawaii. And she never shied from a game of Bingo at Kirby Pines Estates, where she spent her last three years surrounded by books and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James Murray Smith and Maud Horton Smith, as well as her husband, Robert Curtis Cox and her two sisters, Elizabeth King and Lucille Drewery.

She is survived by her sister, Barbara Phillips (Maury); by her three devoted daughters, Donna Groff-Wheeler (Gary), Melissa Cox Hay (Doug) and Laura Elizabeth Cox; by her grandchildren, Caroline Groff Roberts, Dana Groff III, Ryan Arthur Knop, Courtney Knop Love, Alaina Knop Hale and Lindsay Elizabeth Bryant; and by her great-grandchildren, John Michael Roberts, Hannah Caroline Roberts, Alex Montgomery Groff, Summer Elizabeth Groff, Virgil Lee Love, and Makayla Elizabeth Griffith.

The family will receive friends Saturday, February 7, 2015 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Collierville Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 2 p.m. at Collierville Funeral Home with interment to follow at Magnolia Cemetery. Gifts in Memory of Mrs. Cox may be offered to the Page Robbins Adult Day Center or Collierville United Methodist Church.