Carrol Byron Cox Jr, 88, of Bloomington died Friday, August 10th, 2018 at Luther Oaks in Bloomington. He was born July 22, 1930 in Benton Township, MI, the son of Carrol and Lillian Cox. He was preceded in death by his first wife Jessica (Bowing) Cox. He then married Janice (Peters) Cox on May 10, 1969 in Bloomington. She preceded him in death this year.
Carrol completed his Master of Arts degree at Western Michigan University in 1957. He then served four years in the Air Force during the Korean and Cold War as a cryptographer, where he met his first wife Jessica. They moved to Ann Arbor, MI where Carrol attended the University of Michigan. Carrol received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University Michigan in 1964.
He was a Milton scholar and published important literary criticism in the December 1987 issue of the journal ‘Milton Studies’. He was a professor in the Illinois State University English department from 1961 to 1997. He was beloved by his students and an early innovator in approaches to teaching English composition.
He and his second wife Janice dedicated their lives to social justice and environmental causes. He was a member of many organizations in Bloomington-Normal, IL beginning with passionate involvement with “US!”, the Red Star Council, New Voice, CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador), Students for a Free Palestine, Bloomington Normal Peace and Justice and the League of Revolutionary Struggle and Solidarity. More recently he was an ardent supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.
He raised his daughters at anti-Vietnam war rallies and marches and his son, named after the two Black Panthers, Mark Clark and Fred Hampton, grew up during Carrol’s efforts to support the struggles of the people in Central America against United States Imperialism. All three of his children inherited his deeply principled dedication to social and economic justice.
Carrol is survived by his mother-in-law, Mary Peters of Arthur; three children, Catherine L. (Christopher Witte) Cox of Warrenville; Lillian G. (James Knapp) Cox of Kalamazoo, MI; and Mark H. (Borbala Deak) Cox of New York, NY and his granddaughter, Éva Cox. He is also survived by his brother Earl Cox of Kalamazoo, MI, his sister-in-law Karen (Peters) Shea and Janice’s daughter Heidi (Neff) Andrews along with many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Carrol’s memorial service will be held this Sunday August 12th, from 3 to 7 p.m. Epiphany Farms Restaurant at 220 E. Front St. Bloomington, IL
Memorial contributions can be made to The Bloom Community School here in BLM-Normal:
https://www.bloomcommunityschool.org/shop
Bloom Community School
1100 N. Beech Street
Normal, IL 61761
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