Captain James L Cox

Captain James Lawrence Cox, 90, passed away in his home in Las Vegas on June 8, 2022. James was born J.L Cox, in the small town of Greenville, Florida, the youngest of four siblings. He named himself James Lawrence while in college; while he'd answer to James or Jim, Papa was his favorite name. He attended Ketterlinus High School in St. Augustine, FL. He then attended Florida State University and earned a degree in history, joining the United States Air Force directly after graduation. During his twelve years in the Air Force, he flew 30 missions, logging 59 hours of combat time over South Vietnam. He received a certificate for surpassing the speed of sound in an F86D (jet Interceptor) on July 1, 1956.Just three days later, he met Peggy Hassel on her birthday, the Fourth of July, working as a court reporter on base. They married after just three months of dating, and were happily married for nearly 66 years.The newlyweds moved to Fukuoka, Japan, where Jim was stationed. They lived in Fukuoka for three years, and their first son,James Lawrence Jr. was born there in 1959. Afterwards, James was stationed in Panama City, Florida, and flew with the Navy. Their second son, Christopher Kevin, was born there in 1961. Jim was then given orders to DaNang, Vietnam, in the heat of the conflict, but was redirected to Bangkok while en route to establish a training school for the Royal Thai Air Force. Later, Jim was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., where he served as a Maintenance Officer in charge of fifty-three T-33's flown by Pentagon officers, and later as a Maintenance Test Pilot on the T-33, T-29, and T-39. While at Andrews, Jim flew with many congressmen and senators, He was one of the pilots that met President Kennedy's body after his assassination, and stayed in the rotunda with the deceased president on special assignment. He marched in President Johnson's Inaugural Parade and attended his Inaugural Ball. Jim's third son, Matthew Craig, and only daughter, Kimberly Ann, were both born in the D.C. area in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, Jim joined United Airlines and the family moved to Chicago. He flew with United for 34 years, flying the Caravelle, DC 6,7,8, and 10, and the Boeing 727, 737, and 747. James had a lifelong love of traveling, and flew in routes all over the world. In retirement, Jim enjoyed traveling for leisure with Peggy, and spending time with his twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Jim was a gifted storyteller and shared his many stories with anyone who would listen. He had a wonderful sense of humor. James was incredibly generous and dependable; his family was the center of his life, and he was a great protector to all those he loved fiercely. He considered himself a very lucky man who had most of his life's wishes fulfilled: he had his dream career, was married to the love of his life, traveled the world, and raised a loving family.

A visitation for James will be held Wednesday, June 22, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Palm Cheyenne Mortuary, 7400 West Cheyenne Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89129. A graveside service will occur Thursday, June 23, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Bunker's Memory Gardens Memorial Park, 7251 W Lone Mountain Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89129.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmcheyenne.com for the Cox family.