Obituary: Glenna Ruth Cox

Glenna Ruth Cox passed away Thursday, June 23, 2016, in Ocoee, Florida. Glenna was born Jan. 2, 1931, in Piney Creek, North Carolina, which is in Ashe County. She was the first child of Winnie and Archie Barton.

Her mom and dad were farmers until 1941, when Glenna was 10 and the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Her dad then went to work as a plant supervisor, and her mom worked for Fisher Body. Their family included three younger brothers and one sister.

Glenna’s first job after graduating high school was working at Eaton Axle, where she made decorations for grills for 1951 Ford cars. Next, she worked for Murray Bicycle Company, where she met and later married her husband, Charlie Cox, who was her inspector at the bicycle company.

Their family grew with the addition of four children, Patrick, Debi, Anthony and Michael. In 1959, they moved to Daytona Beach, where Glenna went to work for General Electric in the space program. When the space program closed in Daytona, she commuted to Plymouth and worked for General Electric’s light bulb and Christmas light division.

In 1970, they moved to Apopka, where she continued to work until they closed. In 1975, she moved to Ocoee. Glenna was one of the first people to go to work in Ply mouth and was one of the last 10 to leave when the plant closed.

She then went to work for Wal-mart in the cash office and retired in 2006. In her younger days, she enjoyed playing softball, golf, bowling and parasailing.

Glenna received numerous awards while working at General Electric and Wal-mart. She also enjoyed playing bingo and luncheons at West Orange Seniors.

Glenna was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Cox; sons, Anthony and Patrick Cox; daughter, Debi Matthews; and granddaughter, Kimberly Couch.

Glenna is survived by a son, Mike (and Sharon) Barton; son-in-law, Mike Matthews; daughter-in-law, Sandy Cox; niece, Karen (and Butch) Frye; grandchildren, Chris, Billy, Bailey and Michelle; six great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

The graveside service is 2 p.m. Friday, July 8, at Woodlawn Cemetery, Gotha.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Vitas Hospice in memory of Glenna Cox: Vitas Community Connection, 255 E. Fifth St., Suite 1200, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Vitas.com/community-connection/donation-form.