THOMAS FOSTER “TF” COX
Thomas Foster Cox was born on September 15, 1931 to William Oliver Cox and Alta Williams Cox at their home on Spring Valley in Ink, MO. Named for his maternal grandfather Thomas Foster Williams, he was called T F from a young age. T F departed this life on October 8, 2020 at Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains, MO at the age of 89 years.
T F married Joy Gail Sconce at the Baptist Church in Steelville, MO on July 12, 1963. They were happily married 57 years and raised daughters Cynthia Smith Everett and Christina Cox. T F was extremely proud of Cyd and Christy and never missed a chance to tell them so.
As T F was failing, his most common theme to doctors, nurses, medical staff, friends, family and anyone who would listen was that he was married to the prettiest woman in the world and that Joy was the best wife and best mother anyone could ever have.
T F graduated from Eminence High School in 1949. He proudly and honorably served our country as a United States Marine from 1952-1954 during the Korean War. He was stationed at Camp Desert Rock, Nevada at the atomic bomb proving grounds outside Las Vegas, Nevada.
On his first leave after basic training, he hitchhiked home from San Diego, CA with a fellow Marine from Little Rock, AR. They made it together to Little Rock where T F finished the journey to Eminence by himself. Along 60 Highway west of Poplar Bluff, a car rolled by and then returned to pick him up. T F explained he was going to Eminence and the driver was Layard Ferguson, an Eminence boy himself. T F asked Layard for permission to sleep, pulled his Marine cap over his eyes and slept all the way to Eminence. His mother, Alta, was none too happy he had hitchhiked across the country. When it was time to return, Alta gave him bus fare and put him on a bus back to California.
Saved and baptized in 1955, T F was a member of the First Baptist Church of Eminence and a former member of the Eminence City Board of Aldermen.
T F was a member of Carpenters Union Local 73 in St Louis for 25 years and worked for the National Park Service as a maintenance man for 23 years from 1968-1991. While employed for the Park Service, he used his vacation time to lead the Medium Half-Day ride for the Cross Country Trail Ride and continued in that role after retirement for a total of 25 years. T F enjoyed his days as a Trail Boss more than anything else he ever did; many repeat riders became his friends and many claimed he was their favorite trail boss.
His father, Oliver Cox, was a fox hunter and gave T F his first fox hounds when he was a young boy. Fox hunting became a lifelong passion and provided T F with some of his best memories and best friendships. He counted his hunting friends as the best friends he could have ever had. Arnold, Fuzz and Windy Smith, Seaman Rayfield, K R Mooney, Mutt Hunt, Kenny Piatt and the Piatt family, Johnny McCabe and so many others were special to T F.
In addition to fox hunting, T F loved to hunt, fish, and gig. He loved horseback riding and continued to own and ride horses regularly with Tom Akers until he could no longer do so. T F and Joy were regulars at bluegrass festivals and opry shows, horse shows and rodeos for decades. And they were true fans of the Eminence Redwings and all the kids who represented Eminence.
In retirement, T F and Joy enjoyed traveling, primarily in Colorado and Kentucky. In Colorado, they rode their horses on National Forest trails in the Rocky Mountains for two and three weeks at a time. In Rosine, Kentucky, they went to the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Festival and they made many trips to Kenny Seaman’s Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival in Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado.
Above all else, T F’s favorite role in life was his role as husband, father and grandfather. Chet and Joy spent the best times of their youth staying with Pa and Mamaw – riding horses, hunting and traveling every backroad. T F taught them the skills and the life lessons he knew would serve them well, just as he did for Cyd and Christy. For the past 16 1/2 years, he enjoyed his granddaughters Ashley and Catherine, and their sister Aubrey, and loved them immensely. He believed they were fine girls, now young women, and felt very blessed to have them in his life.
A very special blessing came into T F’s life in March, 2019 when Joy and Ben named his first great grandchild after him. T F often expressed how honored he felt that Thomas was named for him. Many times he would say “I still can’t believe Joy named that boy Thomas. I’m so proud of that”.
Preceding T F in death were his parents Oliver and Alta Cox, his in-laws Oral and Louise Sconce, his siblings Freeman Cox, Eunice (Cox) and Tony Swiney, Mary Lou (Cox) and Dean Jones, and Dean Cox as well as his sister-in-law Betty Sue Rader, nephew Michael Jones and nieces Sandra Sconce and Linda Sconce Beland.
T F is survived by his wife Joy, daughters Cyd Everett and her husband, John, and Christy Cox. Other survivors include his grandchildren Chet and Cassie Blackburn, Joy and Ben White, Ashley Everett and Catherine Everett, great grandson and namesake Thomas Paul White, sister-in-law Eveline Cox, brother-in-law Max Rader, brother-in-law Duane Sconce and sister-in-law Barbara Sconce as well as numerous well-loved nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 12 Noon Saturday, October 10, 2020 at First Baptist Church, Eminence, Missouri with Pastor Paul Wellinghoff officiating under the direction of Yarber Mortuary, Eminence. Visitation will begin at the church at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be in Summers Cemetery, Eminence, Missouri and donations in TF’s memory may be made to the cemetery, c/o Allen Ramsey. Condolences may be expressed at www.yarbermortuary.com.
