JERRY COX
Jerome “Jerry” Lee Cox, Jr. of Oroville, California, age 77, died there suddenly on August 16, 2021. Jerry was born on December 22, 1943 in Pawnee City, Nebraska. He was a son of Jerome Lee Cox, Sr., a rural mail carrier, and Dorothy (Disher) Cox of Burchard, Nebraska.
Jerry attended school at Burchard until the high school closed in 1959. He then completed high school at Summerville, Kansas, ten miles south, from which he graduated in 1962. He attended college at both Nebraska Wesleyan and the University of Nebraska before moving to Arizona, where he received a B.A. degree from the University of Arizona.
Jerry suffered from birth defects including poor eyesight, which kept him from driving a car. However, he became a tireless bicyclist as a teenager, logging thousands of miles, including rides to Denver and other distant locations. He had many interests and an unusually detailed memory. He had a particular interest in meteorology, recording the temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure every day for many years.
After completing his college degree, he moved to California in 1974, living at first in Oxnard, and later in Sacramento, where he remained for many years, moving to Oroville in 2008. He was a data processor for the State of California for 24 years, retiring in about 2006. Wherever Jerry lived he formed close friendships.
He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers (George and Tom) and a sister (Mary). He is survived by his close friend and neighbor, Shirley Hardway, as well as nephews, nieces, cousins, and many friends.
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