Vernon Lewis Cox

January 23, 1930 - December 12, 2023

Vernon Lewis (Bobby) Cox was born on January 23, 1930 in the Fairview community outside of Apex, NC. His parents were Zennie Exum and Annie Elizabeth Cox. He had an older sister, Swannie Cox (Whittle) and an older brother, William David Cox (who died from meningitis in childhood). A few years later the family moved to Apex.

Bobby was an outdoor adventurous boy and always interested in building things. At the age of 14 he built a mock up airplane in his parent’s chicken pen with whatever materials he could find. While attending shop (his favorite class), at Apex High School, he began building furniture, boats and even a drop leaf table and kitchen cabinets for his parents. Bobby worked at Carolina Plywood in Apex and Southern Builders in Raleigh before starting his own business. At age 19, with only $56.00, he began building a shop on Ellington St. in Apex. It took him 3 years to complete. In 1952, the same year he started Apex Cabinet Company, he married Montez Ann Hobbs Cox of Greensboro. Bobby was only 22 years old. They had four children; Marian Cox (White), Gail Cox (Howington), Ted Louis Cox (tragically died at age 7) and Alecia Cox (Copeland).

From the 1960’s on, Bobby has raised beagles, hunted, fished, boated, enjoyed water skiing, camping, racing midget race cars, riding his motor scooters and motorcycle, flying his home built radio controlled airplanes, passenger airplanes, aerobatic airplanes and traveling the world with family and friends. Yes, he built 2 of his ski boats and many of the family’s water skis.

In 1958 Bobby built his first brick ranch home in Apex. It had many unique mid-century modern features. The kitchen table hung from the ceiling and the front door was star shaped with inlaid mahogany, birch and walnut. He made all the furniture and of course the kitchen cabinets. In the late 1960’s he built a cottage at Lake Gaston. He could taxi the family airplane right up to the house. In 1977 he purchased over 40 acres of land off of Hwy. 64 and built his current residence and the Cox Airport. He constructed the rock entrance walls with granite and Tennessee flagstone accents. He also built the beautiful gazebo on the 2 acre pond where several family members have been married. Then in 2008, he built his pride and joy, the log cabin. He laid the rock fireplace, built the spiral staircase and a cabin full of rustic cedar furniture.

At age 35, Bobby got his private pilot’s license. He bought a Cessna 172 that he flew for a few years and then sold it to buy a Cessna 210 to better accommodate family travels. His love for flying and craftsmanship led to the building of many of Bobby’s airplanes. He has built 2 kit built and 1 custom plans built airplane. The plans built “Cox Hawk” won the Grand Champion award at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) at Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland, Florida in 1995. It is featured on the cover of Sport Aviation (June 1995) and Kitplanes (October 1996). It is also featured in the EAA World of Flight 1997 Calendar. The Cox Hawk is currently located at the North Carolina Aviation Museum in Asheboro, North Carolina.

In 1964, Apex Cabinet Company moved and expanded to the Hwy. 64 location where hundreds of kitchen cabinets have been custom manufactured for the triangle area and beyond. In his shops, Bobby has designed and built furniture and cabinets for his home, his family and many of his friends for over 70 years! Later in the 1980’s, Apex Cabinet Company became a stock and semi-custom cabinet distributor. Family took over managing the business and Bobby fully retired in the late 1990’s.

Throughout the years, Bobby has served at his church and in his community. He has been a member of Apex Baptist Church most of his life, where he and a lot of his extended family still attend. He served on the Deacon board and also as a youth boys Sunday school teacher. He was on the Apex Planning Board in 1971 and President of the Apex Chamber of Commerce in 1972.

Bobby has always worked hard and played hard and put his family first. He taught his children the importance of hard work, honesty, family and gratefulness to God. His children were taught to sand cabinets in the shop, water ski around 5 years old, ride motorcycles and fly airplanes as teenagers. In 1988, Bobby’s wife, Montez passed away with brain cancer. They had been happily married for 36 years. She was also a pilot and they flew on many adventures together in their Cessna 210. The Caribbean, Alaska and the U.S. National Parks were some of their favorites. After her passing, he met and married Rosalyn Holleman Cox from Holly Springs in late 1989. She had three children; April Cotten (Ward), Kellie Hancock (Sigmon) and Jeremy Lewis (Cox) who recently passed away. Bobby has left behind a very large family! With 3 living daughters and 2 living step-daughters, there are currently 15 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren plus various spouses. The holidays and all the get-togethers were so full of love, laughter and kids playing everywhere! They could always count on Grandpa Bobby to take them for a ride on his Polaris Ranger. They would all pile in and on as he rode the many kids (plus a beagle or two) around his spacious property.

Bobby will be greatly missed. He was indeed a pillar within our family. He was loved and respected by all who met him. If you come across anyone who knew Bobby, ask them their story. Everyone who knew Bobby has a story to tell.

A visitation for Bobby will be held Thursday, December 21, 2023 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Apex Baptist Church, 110 S Salem St, Apex, NC 27502. A funeral service will occur Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 2:00 PM, 110 S Salem St, Apex, NC 27502. A graveside service will occur Thursday, December 21, 2023 at Apex Cemetery, 207 W Moore St, Apex, NC 27502.