From the Wife
September 26, 2020
by Dennis Cox
Jim was a complex man (and that’s not a downer).
We first met as serious students at the University of Florida, riding home in the same car for a weekend break. I talked to the driver, and Jim listened in the back seat. At the end of the ride, I was wishing I’d gotten to know him better. Little did I know I would have 58 years to get to know him. I was never bored --- always impressed with the variety of his interests and abilities. Our first activity together on returning to school was a tennis “date”. (His serve topped mine.) That was good!
We studied together. He always “derived” his formulas on the homework and tests. That was good! (I had to memorize mine.) He was an electrical engineer co-op student at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas. That was GOOD! (It demonstrated a good work ethic!) He was well-mannered and looked like Audie Murphy, my childhood cowboy hero!
He wasn’t forward! That was good! (That would have frightened me!) He joined me in singing in the choir on Sunday morning at the Methodist Student Center. He had a wonderful tenor voice – not professional. That was good, too, for some reason (mine wasn’t professional, either).
As we hung out together, I realized he was LOYAL! (and I was checking things off a list I didn’t even know I had!) Well, he got his master’s degree while waiting for me to finish college (redeeming the time). That was good! We had a big wedding, and that same day we struck out for the University of Florida football field to get our degrees. Then, we headed out for a honeymoon on a dude ranch in Colorado! He planned the whole trip in beautiful detail. That was good too, because my family never took trips like that!
Life was good. Jim loved his work, and I was quitting my job soon to begin a family.
Jim thoroughly enjoyed his lifelong hobby of operating a ham radio. He eventually used his skills for Asbury College students to contact their missionary parents on the field in South America. He was a lifelong member of IEEE, keeping up with continuing education in his field. When computers hit the technical world, he jumped right onto it and took classes and learned new programs to prepare himself for this new world which he loved.
After our first son was born, he had a time of newly reflecting on the seriousness of being a father and all the responsibilities of caring for a family. It scared him. This deep reflection led to a spiritual awakening that was quite surprising. He was searching for what to do with it. Church leaders said he should go to seminary! Having every confidence in his decision, I was ready to follow him in this “spiritual adventure”. (I thought, “That's good! He’s flexible and fearless.") This became the most challenging part of our life together. But God had a plan. There were about 6 years of growing and drawing near to God in a deeper way which we would never have known under different circumstances. This journey culminated in a life-changing encounter that fulfilled a desire in Jim which continued to grow for his remaining years – to truly know God.
At some point, he began to progressively lose his ability to speak clearly. He privately suspected he had had a mini-stroke in his sleep.
As he neared retirement, he looked forward to teaching the new-found understanding of the Scriptures he had been studying. He began to express them in one-page writings which he called “Brief Insights”. They were to be a gift to his children by which to remember him. Along the way, others read, appreciated, and asked for copies. This experience fulfilled his later-in-life chance to TEACH! He had a way of making the Scriptures palatable to those for whom they weren’t. He became my favorite teacher. He was not ashamed of the gospel!
He had come a long way from a fine computer programmer who was once assigned the job of creating a program to turn space station urine into palatable water to drink!
We first met as serious students at the University of Florida, riding home in the same car for a weekend break. I talked to the driver, and Jim listened in the back seat. At the end of the ride, I was wishing I’d gotten to know him better. Little did I know I would have 58 years to get to know him. I was never bored --- always impressed with the variety of his interests and abilities. Our first activity together on returning to school was a tennis “date”. (His serve topped mine.) That was good!
We studied together. He always “derived” his formulas on the homework and tests. That was good! (I had to memorize mine.) He was an electrical engineer co-op student at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas. That was GOOD! (It demonstrated a good work ethic!) He was well-mannered and looked like Audie Murphy, my childhood cowboy hero!
He wasn’t forward! That was good! (That would have frightened me!) He joined me in singing in the choir on Sunday morning at the Methodist Student Center. He had a wonderful tenor voice – not professional. That was good, too, for some reason (mine wasn’t professional, either).
As we hung out together, I realized he was LOYAL! (and I was checking things off a list I didn’t even know I had!) Well, he got his master’s degree while waiting for me to finish college (redeeming the time). That was good! We had a big wedding, and that same day we struck out for the University of Florida football field to get our degrees. Then, we headed out for a honeymoon on a dude ranch in Colorado! He planned the whole trip in beautiful detail. That was good too, because my family never took trips like that!
Life was good. Jim loved his work, and I was quitting my job soon to begin a family.
Jim thoroughly enjoyed his lifelong hobby of operating a ham radio. He eventually used his skills for Asbury College students to contact their missionary parents on the field in South America. He was a lifelong member of IEEE, keeping up with continuing education in his field. When computers hit the technical world, he jumped right onto it and took classes and learned new programs to prepare himself for this new world which he loved.
After our first son was born, he had a time of newly reflecting on the seriousness of being a father and all the responsibilities of caring for a family. It scared him. This deep reflection led to a spiritual awakening that was quite surprising. He was searching for what to do with it. Church leaders said he should go to seminary! Having every confidence in his decision, I was ready to follow him in this “spiritual adventure”. (I thought, “That's good! He’s flexible and fearless.") This became the most challenging part of our life together. But God had a plan. There were about 6 years of growing and drawing near to God in a deeper way which we would never have known under different circumstances. This journey culminated in a life-changing encounter that fulfilled a desire in Jim which continued to grow for his remaining years – to truly know God.
At some point, he began to progressively lose his ability to speak clearly. He privately suspected he had had a mini-stroke in his sleep.
As he neared retirement, he looked forward to teaching the new-found understanding of the Scriptures he had been studying. He began to express them in one-page writings which he called “Brief Insights”. They were to be a gift to his children by which to remember him. Along the way, others read, appreciated, and asked for copies. This experience fulfilled his later-in-life chance to TEACH! He had a way of making the Scriptures palatable to those for whom they weren’t. He became my favorite teacher. He was not ashamed of the gospel!
He had come a long way from a fine computer programmer who was once assigned the job of creating a program to turn space station urine into palatable water to drink!