Joan Cole Cox

Joan Cole Cox, 84, of Naples, FL, went home to be with the Lord on December 11, 2024. Joan was born October 21, 1940 in Newnan GA to Timothy Cole Sr. and Maudie Meadows. She also had a loving step father, Harvey Greene (Paw Paw).

A loving wife, mother and nana, she is predeceased by her parents, along with the love of her life, husband Joel of 63 years, her half brother, Timothy Cole, Jr. (Skippy) who was killed in the Vietnam War, and step brother William Greene and his loving wife Betty, who was like a sister to Joan.

She is survived by her son, Joel (Colleen) Cox, daughter, Jennifer Cox, grandchildren, Jordan (Rachel) Cox, Nathan (Lauren) Cox, and Stephanie (Ethan) Maskolunas. Great grandchildren, Miss Ana Rae Cox, Beau Cox, McCoy and Boone Maskolunas, and three additions on the way who will be blessing our family next year. She is also survived by her half sisters Carol (Wayne) Gullatt, and Angela Cole, brother-in-law James (Janet) Cox, sister-in-law Carol Almand, and beloved Aunt JoAnne Greene Jones (Aunt Jo), along with many loved nieces and nephews.

She graduated from Western High School in 1958, and went on to graduate from Georgia Baptist School of Nursing in 1961. Joan was very involved in the Newnan community and First Baptist Newnan until 1978 when the family moved to Naples, FL. There she began a new career as a real estate agent with John R Wood. In 1984, Joel and Joan moved to Marco Island to start a successful State Farm Insurance agency until her retirement in 2002. They were role models for other agents who worked as a team with their spouse. Joan won many prestigious awards and in 1992 was invited to be a member of the “Magnificent 10”, a group of lady State Farm agents who were recognized as some of the top agents in the nation. Even though most of the “Mag Group” are retired, this group of ladies have remained a sisterhood through today and are still close.

After Joan and Joel “retired” they moved back to Naples to be closer to the grandchildren. Over the years, she and Joel were very involved in the community and First Baptist Church Naples. Joan and her husband were one of the founding committee members of the Child Evangelism Fellowship of Collier County (CEF). They faithfully served and were instrumental in bringing Good News Clubs into 22 public elementary schools.

Joan was one of the founders of Youth Leadership Collier which began in 2005, along with Donna MacNiven, Crystal Kinzel, Kathy Curatolo and CJ Hueston. In 1998, she was approached by Donna, her best friend, about her vision for YLC at a little table in the corner of a restaurant. Joan was immediately on board so they etched out the plans on a napkin and got to work. Joan dedicated herself to nurturing the potential of high school juniors through this transformative leadership program. Throughout her years leading the program, she committed to creating opportunities for the young people to discover and develop their leadership skills. Her legacy lives on through the countless students she mentored, and who learned not just about leadership, but about believing in themselves.

Joan and Joel traveled extensively over the years. Many trips were with State Farm and the Marco Men’s Group. Joan’s greatest joy was spending time with her family and hosting weekly family dinners. A highlight of these times together was a family cruise throughout Alaska in 2014 that remained close to her heart. She loved spending time with her many friends, and especially enjoyed attending her Matthew Group Bible study.

There are no words to describe how much Joan will be dearly missed by her family and many friends. A private memorial service was held at the Naples Memorial Gardens. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Leadership Collier Foundation-notation YLC (leadershipcollier.org), Empowerment Farm (Empowermentfarm.org), or Child Evangelism Fellowship of Collier County (cefonline.com).