St. Paul's Episcopal Church

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
425 Cleveland Ave SW
Canton, Ohio 44702
Phone: 330-455-0286
Fax: 330-455-9818
E-mail: office@stpaulscanton.org

March 28, 2009
The Rev. Barbara Bond

Edward J. Cox II
January 25, 1940 – March 14, 2009

What are we going to do without Ed?

Ed Cox was everywhere in this church, taking care of things big and small. He apparently had a similar role in Stark County. Everywhere we look and listen, we will remember him.

The microphone I am wearing, a deluxe model, was donated by Ed, and he worked tirelessly to tune it with our sound system, which he also oversaw. The microphones work because Ed always supplied batteries for them, all carefully labeled for which month they were to be used. This is but a small example of Ed’s fingerprints in this parish.

But let’s start at the beginning. Ed was born in 1940, reared in Canton, and graduated from Lehman High School in 1958. He spent two years in a local college and worked as a disc jockey for WJER in Dover until 1961. During those years, in 1959, he met someone special named Serena. In the Christmas of 1960 they became engaged to be married. Then Ed found a terrific opportunity for advancement, in a broadcasting job in Easton, Maryland, so away he went, with plans for Serena to join him later. All was well, with frequent letters for months, when suddenly the letters stopped. Ed’s job had evaporated, and embarrassed, he jumped quickly at another opportunity and joined the army. Before shipping out, he came to see Serena, who was not pleased with his lack of communication, and she told him, “Adios.” Oh well.

So Ed shipped out. Because of his broadcasting background, the army wanted him to work as a journalist for Armed Forces Radio. He was in the demilitarized zone of Korea for 18 months, then after discharge returned to Canton and worked in various radio broadcasting jobs, ending up at WHBC, first as a disc jockey and then moving up to assistant news director.. He was with WHBC for 17 years and his voice was familiar to most of Canton.

Ed was always good at organization, and he had a sixth sense for crisis. And so it was particularly appropriate that he went into disaster management, working for Stark County as 911 coordinator, organizing hazardous materials, and overseeing many aspects of Emergency Management. He retired in 2003.

His love life having started off so disastrously with the lovely Serena, Ed made an excellent recovery when he returned from Korea, marrying Julie in 1965. Their son Jim was born in 1967 – that’s Edward James Cox III; and his son E.J. is Edward James Cox IV. Son Jim is married to Sharon, and besides E.J., they have son Sean. Ed was outrageously fond of his whole family -- wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandsons. Julie was a nurse who became interested in the welfare of wild animals. She would take injured creatures into the home and rehab them until they were ready to return to the wild. So both home and Ed’s office were full of cages for squirrels, ground hogs, possums, birds, and raccoons, as well as their own dog and cat. Sharon describes it as “a royal zoo.” I heard that at least one of these creatures was brought to church for a St. Francis Animal Blessing! Julie became ill with diabetes and died in October 2005.

Ed was very active in the Masons. He was Past Master of Trinity Masonic Lodge #710, Past High Priest of Canton Chapter #84 R. & S.M., past Commander of Canton Commandery #38 Knights Templar, and a member of the Valley of Canton Scottish Rite. It is entirely fitting that his lodge offer their funeral rite for him this morning.

Ed was a member of this church virtually his whole life. His parents were very active here, and when he was nine years old, he joined the Boys Choir. He was an acolyte as a boy and continued this ministry the rest of his life. Whatever needed doing at church, Ed was there. He chaired several committees – communications, personnel, policies and procedures, financial audit; he was on vestry for the past five years, serving his final year as Senior Warden and participating in the Natural Church Development team. His wonderfully expressive voice, heard for years over WHBC, leant a professional tone to his scripture reading as lector. On any given day at church, he would be seen adjusting the sound system, ushering, counting the attendance from the gallery, bringing up the bread and wine, gathering the offerings, serving at the altar, assisting people down the steps after communion, making coffee, attending the Sunday morning study group, checking the doors, counting the offering, making name tags, carrying the cross – he was especially effective as crucifer for funerals, which he loyally attended. He often served as a torch bearer.

Lately he was carrying a torch in another way. Having been widowed for three years, last summer he started wondering, “Whatever happened to Serena?” You remember Serena? His old flame, whom he hadn’t seen since 1961. Serena had married someone else and was herself a widow of eight years. Ed didn’t even know her current last name, but with an intensity very characteristic of him, he went on a search through old newspapers, country records, Internet – and he found her. Now Serena Thurin, she was surprised to hear from him, and somewhat cautiously, she responded to his letter. Soon they were dating, their relationship rekindled, and Ed was the happiest we had seen him in years. In December Serena gave him a very special gift: a Masonic lapel pin, into which she had set the diamond from her engagement ring – the ring Ed had given her 47 years before. And Ed bought her a new ring. Serena was confirmed in the Episcopal Church on February 1, and they were planning to be married here this June. They picked out their wedding bands and had them engraved: Inside Ed’s ring, Serena had engraved ILYF – for, “I’ll love you forever.” Her engagement ring had three stones, signifying their past, their present, and their hoped-for future. Ed and Serena were having a wonderful time making plans. Some of the music you are hearing today was chosen by Ed for the wedding.

But then tragedy struck. Following successful gall bladder surgery, Ed seemed to be recovering well, but then an old condition changed: his slow-growing cancer suddenly turned vicious. Various treatment options were discussed, but finally, Ed and Serena decided to let nature take its course. Ed entered hospice care, and went home with Serena for his final days. He died peacefully and quietly on Saturday, March 14, surrounded by his family and his beloved Serena.

The tributes of his friends and colleagues are pouring in. I was entranced by Jim Hillibish’s recent story in the Repository newspaper. He knew Ed well from their years of reporting the hard news. Jim wrote, “I knew Ed years before meeting him. I’d hear him on WHBC, often with fire trucks screaming in the background. You could smell the smoke in Ed’s live reports.” Jim continued, “Ed went on to invent emergency preparedness in the county. When they were looking for a coordinator who was respected by all the police and firefighters and had experienced every type of local disaster first hand, Ed was the only man.”

Another story on Ed was written by Diana Rossetti, who quoted Ed’s son Jim about his dad: “He was just one of those traditional guys – family, God and country. He touched a lot of lives, but he was a very humble man.” Also quoted was Carl Rose, who said, “Ed sure had a dry sense of humor…What a guy. He took care of Julie while she was sick and after she died, he took care of his mother-in-law for a long time before she passed.”

We will have our own memories of Ed. He was Webmaster for the church, and kept our website up-to-date, frequently issuing bulletins through e-mail. And who can forget Ed on Veterans Day? He would call out the names of our parishioners who are Veterans, proudly joining them in acknowledgement of their service to our country. If he told you he would do something, he did it, usually before you expected it. On third Saturdays, you would find him volunteering at our HOT Lunch program for the needy. He organized the Hall of Fame Parade doughnut sale more than once. He had a very strong sense of responsibility, and carried out all duties with purpose and intensity. And, for all that, he was also a kind and generous person.

So where is he now? Jesus told us quite clearly that there is a place prepared for us all, and that he would take us there. I imagine Ed checking out his new dwelling place, adjusting the sound system for the angelic choirs, suggesting more effective broadcasting for the prophets, and joining the heavenly committee on disasters that are called Acts of God. I trust he will be gathered around the throne of the Lamb, serving God in perpetuity, praising God and giving thanks for the blessings of his life – the two women he loved, his family, his church, his Masonic lodge, his exciting careers, his vast circle of friends. He hears a voice from the throne saying, “See, I am making all things new.” And Ed is amazed – it is all beyond his imagination. He now sees life as a long continuity – the Alpha and The Omega, the beginning and the end, are one continuous loop, as he lives on, changed in his new life to something he could never have imagined. We rejoice for Ed’s new life, even as we miss him terribly from his former life with us. There will never again be anyone who is quite like Ed Cox.