William Arthur Cox, 74

Published 8:06 am Thursday, August 30, 2018

William Arthur Cox, 74, of Austin, Minnesota, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, at Sacred Heart Care Center in Austin.

William Arthur Cox, 74

William was born on Sept. 1, 1943, in Corydon, Iowa, to Lewis and Alice (Kumerow) Cox. He attended school in Iowa and Missouri. On May 10, 1964, William was united in marriage to Nancy Christ at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. Together they raised two daughters. The couple lived in Mankato, Minnesota, where William worked for a dry cleaning business before they bought a farm and started Cox Apple Orchard near Cleveland, Minnesota. He had three apples named and one patented from his orchard. In 2009, he had to sell the orchard due to a health issue that forced him to retire. The couple then moved to Austin to be near their daughter. William was a member of the Cornerstone Church, Senior Citizen Center in Austin, and a former member of the Church of Christ in Cleveland. His hobbies included chess, bean bags, bowling, horseshoes, playing guitar, songwriting, golfing, fishing and camping. William will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Survivors include his wife, Nancy Cox of Austin; daughters, Tracy (Ricky) Griffith of Goodyear, Arizona, and Tina (Steve) Shafer of Owatonna, Minnesota; five grandchildren, Jacob (Ambjor) Johnson, Megan (Zach) Krause, Rachel Griffith, Rebecca Griffith and Joshua Griffith; two great-grandchildren, Carson Krause and Mason Krause; siblings, Beverly (Ken) Gibson of Eagleville, Tennessee, Lorraine Cheathan of Franklin, Tennessee, David Cox of Remer, Minnesota, Dale (Joy) Cox of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Donna (Bob) Price of Franklin and Larry Cox of Franklin. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lewis and Alice Cox; his granddaughter, Taylor Griffith; his sister in infancy, Darlene; and his three brothers, Gene, Vern, and Darrel.

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Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, at the Worlein Funeral Home Chapel in Austin with the Rev. David Simerson officiating. Visitation will be from 9:30-11 a.m. prior to the service on Saturday at the funeral home. Worlein Funeral Home of Austin is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.worlein.com.