Linda Cox
I met John through the bank I worked at in the 80’s. He was just a customer for a year or two and then we became friends. I enjoyed the stories he would tell about he and Evelyn’s travels as they researched his ancestry. He had me type one of his books in the early 90’s and gave us a copy of it after it was printed. I enjoyed hearing his stories and his interest in planting his trees. He said everyone seems to take things from earth when they are alive and he wanted to leave something, so he started planting trees. John showed me the starts of the trees he and Evelyn started in milk cartons on the second floor above his law firm. He gave us a start of a ginkgo tree that was about 10 -12 inches tall at the time. We planted it temporarily for a couple years in our garden when we lived in Mt Zion. When we built our retirement home in 1994 we transplanted the tree to our front yard south of Clinton. It is now 25-30 feet tall. I always think about him when I look at it.
We had John and Evelyn for dinner at our home in Mt Zion and he invited us several times to their farm in Mt Sterling. He took us around the farm in his golf cart showing us all the trees he had planted. I remember the HUGE ant hills and the ticks that I had to pick off all the way back home!
I remember what a good cook Evelyn was and her delicious pies and how he loved reading to his guests after dinner. He took us to a restaurant, the Boatel, in Meredosia and introduced us to Buffalo fish. It was delicious and huge.
My husband and I made stained glass windows. When he found out he asked us to make windows for him. He had us make a huge window for the new barn he had built in Mt Sterling and then he asked us to make one for the ceiling on his front porch in Mt Sterling and then another one for Evelyn’s bedroom there. I had extra glass so I made and gifted Evelyn a lamp for her nightstand. I think he enjoyed hearing about the Habitat homes Bob was helping build in Clinton and we were amazed and respected all the support he gave to Kenny.
I visited Evelyn every morning and night before and after work when she was in the hospital until she passed away and Bob would cut the grass in their yard in Decatur and do the grocery shopping for her after her vision got so bad. We dearly loved Evelyn.
John had me choose the clothes Evelyn was buried in and he had her cousin Claude and I go through her things in her bedroom and get them ready to donate to his church. He gifted me the doll buggy she bought with her own money as a child and her dolls that she had wrapped in pillow cases in her closet. I also have a large portrait of her when she was about 2 years old. I thought it would be sad having the picture go to someone that didn’t t even know Evelyn. It still hangs in our guest bedroom and the doll buggy and dolls have sat in our dining room since she passed away. I have many happy memories of our times together. Those things and our memories together still mean a lot to me. We haven’t missed one year taking flowers to Evelyn’s grave since she passed away. Unfortunately I don’t know where John’s grave is located. Due to my own health issues we were unable to attend John’s graveside service.
We went to John’s 100th birthday party and I saw him at Hickory Point Christian Village after he moved there. The staff commented that he still walked the halls there.
John was truly an amazing man and we loved both he and Evelyn. There will never be another man like him.
Linda and Bob Cox
