Thomas Wilson "Tom" Cox

Thomas Wilson Cox was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He left this world peacefully on March 11, 2023 at 77 years old. He was born to Emma and Manuel Cox on July 5, 1945. At 21, Tom enlisted in the army where he served our country bravely in Vietnam and continued for many years afterwards, for a total of 25 years. Throughout his military career Tom was highly regarded and respected among his friends and peers. In the year of 1990 Tom and his wife Evelyn established The Cox Arboretum on a 13-acre property in Canton, Georgia, where Tom was able to pursue his avid love for plants, especially conifers and ginkgos. Through this passion, Tom and Evelyn were able to travel to 51 different countries, meet hundreds of different people, learn plenty of life lessons, develop countless lifelong friendships, and, of course, collect more plants than he knew what to do with. His long term ambition and mission was to preserve rare and endangered flora and to develop a public appreciation and enlightenment of plants, in which he was successful. During this journey he curated one of the largest species collections anywhere in America, numbering over 4,000 specimens of some of the rarest material in the world. This same zeal and ambition saw him become the president of the American Conifer Society from 2006-2008, and co-author a book about conifers and ginkgos that is considered indispensable to many collectors and experienced gardeners in the South-East. When Tom wasn’t spreading and expanding his knowledge and love for plants, he and his wife Evelyn enjoyed playing games, such as backgammon, dominoes, and Jeopardy, spending time with their children and grandchildren, taking road trips, telling jokes, and learning about, collecting, and, without a doubt, consuming wine. Tom Cox was a very intelligent, caring, ambitious, and generous man. He was highly revered and will be dearly missed by many, but especially among his family where he was highly involved in our lives. Tom was a very strong and opinionated man that was full of wisdom and worldly knowledge, and due to that many people in his life looked towards him for help and advice. There will be a hole in all of our hearts that only he can fill, but he left behind a legacy where he can be remembered everyday and countless memories and stories about his adventures and antics. His legacy will be carried on by his wife, children, and grandchildren with pride. While we are sad to no longer have Tom here with us, we are at peace knowing that God’s plan and timing is always perfect and that he will no longer be suffering or struggling in any way. We know Tom is in a better place now and is reunited with both of his parents as well as many long-time friends, and this knowledge makes this loss of a beautiful just a little bit easier. Visitation will be Monday, March 20th from 5-7pm at Darby Funeral Home. The funeral will be Tuesday, March 21st at 12:00pm in the chapel of Darby Funeral Home with Minister Paul Thomas officiating. Interment will follow at 2:30pm at Georgia National Cemetery. He is survived by: Wife - Evelyn Cox of Canton Daughter - Cheri Dawn Ruggles and husband, Ashley. Grandchildren - Zach Lopett, Stuart Thomas Willford, Austin Ruggles, Colt Neal, and Ashley Taylor Ruggles 1 great-grandchild also survives. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St Jude's Childrens Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/donate/prospects-tssl.html?frequency_selected=1&sc_icid=monthly-lp-tssl-donate-bttn-top and Myositis Society at myositis.org. The caring staff of Darby Funeral Home is honored to serve the Cox family. The Funeral Service will be live-streamed at: https://vimeo.com/event/3183715

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Thomas Wilson "Tom" Cox

July 5, 1945 - March 11, 2023