James Randall Cox

LODI-James R Cox passed away on Jan. 25, 2016 at age 80, after battling cancer. Jim was born on Nov. 11, 1935, in Janesville to Roy Cox and Helen (Person) Cox. Helen died when Jim was about 2 years old, leaving Roy with four children, Jim, his older brother, Jerry, and his younger twin sisters, Sue and Sally. Not long after, Victor and Ruth Miller moved in with Roy's family to help raise the children. Mrs. Miller filled the roll of mother to the kids from then on. Jim's childhood was typical for the time. He was outside most of the time, playing sports, swimming, and especially fishing. He was good at several sports, winning ribbons in city competitions in swimming, tennis, golf, etc. At one time he was the only boy to win the city golf and tennis competitions in the same year. Jim graduated from Janesville High School in 1954. He earned a B.S. in Biology from UW-Whitewater and he married Clione (Mitzi) Keele in 1958. Jim worked for Prudential insurance with his brother Jerry for eight years. He left there for a job with Xerox, and when that didn't work out, he went through a few different shorter jobs before reconnecting with an old school friend, Dick Brassington. Jim partnered with Dick to start The Jotter, a weekly shopper paper, in 1969, which Jim and Mitzi published for the next 20 years. After the first couple of years, Jim and his close friend, Bob Brieske, bought Dick's portion of the business. Bob then joined Jim and Mitzi as publishers of The Jotter. Jim was always proud of the family atmosphere among the employees at the Jotter. He left The Jotter and married Connie French in 1988, also relocating permanently to Lodi about that time. From there, Jim had a few different jobs before retirement, including owning and running a convenience store. After retirement, he worked in a local bait shop where he loved talking fishing with the patrons. Jim was always an avid hunter and fisherman, spending countless hours on Wisconsin lakes, and especially enjoyed hunting pheasants with his beloved dog, Taffy. He was a lifelong Packers and Badgers fan who rarely missed a game on TV. Jim also enjoyed words, doing daily crossword puzzles and writing many letters to friends and to newspapers, as well as many poems. He was a kind and generous man and will be greatly missed. Jim is survived by his wife, Connie; his children, James D. (Donna) Cox, Julie (Doug) Gerke and Gina (Tad) Hartlaub; Connie's children, Zane Trick, Brett (Alicia) Trick, Matt (Kim) Trick, and Steven (Tina) French; brother, Jerry (Barbara) Cox; sisters, Sue Peters and Sally (Ken) Vogel; and also a combined 21 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at WHITCOMB-LYNCH FUNERAL HOME, 21 S. Austin Rd., Janesville, at 11 a.m., on Mon, Feb. 15, 2016. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 9 a.m. until the time of the service on Monday. Another visitation will be held at HAMRE GUNDERSON FUNERAL HOME, 157 S. Main St., Lodi, from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.   The family requests memorial donations be made in Jim's name to Fishing Has No Boundaries, a charitable organization founded in Wisconsin that enables people with disabilities to fish at www.fhnbinc.org, P.O. Box 175, Hayward, WI 54843, or make a commitment to take someone fishing, who wouldn't otherwise have a chance to go, and share with them some of your knowledge...like Jim would have.  Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.              My Memorial When I come to the end of the road And the sun has set for me, I want no rites in a gloom-filled room. Why cry for a soul set free? Miss me a little bit, but not too long And not with your head bowed low. Remember the love that we shared, Miss me, but let me go. This is a journey we all must take. It is all part of a master plan, A stop on the road home. Bury your sorrow in good deeds, Miss me, but let me go.                         James R. Cox Hamre Gunderson Funeral & Cremation Care 157 S. Main Street (608)592-3201