EMORY COX SPEARHEADED PARKS GROWTH
Forty-two years ago, the father of the professional movement in parks and recreation in Kansas, Emory Lee Cox, had a vision: Wichita needed parks in order to grow.
Mr. Cox believed that without parks, Wichita would run the risk of becoming a concrete jungle inhabited by unhealthy, frustrated people.
While serving for 23 years as director of the city's Park and Recreation Department, the number of parks nearly doubled, from 29 to 53.
''He was very dedicated to the city," said Mr. Cox's son, James Cox. "He had the city's best interest at heart when he performed his job."
Emory Lee Cox died of heart failure Tuesday at Aurora Presbyterian Hospital in Aurora, Colo. He was 86.
A funeral service was held Saturday. A memorial has been established with the Emory and Helen Cox Scholarship Fund at Emporia State University.
In 1969, the Kansas Recreation and Park Association honored him as father of the professional movement in parks and recreation in Kansas. Mr. Cox was closely involved in the formation of the association and was inducted into its hall of fame in 1988.
Among Mr. Cox's most outstanding achievements, James Cox said, were the effective means of negotiation he developed for the sale of the former Wichita Municipal Airport to the U.S. Air Force. The area where the airport operated is the current location of McConnell Air Force Base.
In addition, Mr. Cox actively participated in the design and construction of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, James Cox said.
Other positions held by Mr. Cox included the national presidency of the Airport Operations Council and the city manager's post, which he held for one week.
James Cox said his father received many job offers from outside Wichita. But Mr. Cox turned them all down. "Wichita provided the things he thought were important," James Cox said.
Mr. Cox was a member of the Hebron Masonic Lodge No. 314 in Gridley, the White Rose Chapter of Eastern Star and the Wichita Consistory Lodge-Midian Shrine. He was a native of Compton, Calif., and a graduate of Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia and Iowa State University.
Mr. Cox is survived by his son, James of Englewood, Colo.; a sister, Bonnie Ware of Sacramento, Calif.; and two grandchildren.
Wichita Eagle
July 22, 1991
EMORY COX SPEARHEADED PARKS GROWTH
Forty-two years ago, the father of the professional movement in parks and recreation in Kansas, Emory Lee Cox, had a vision: Wichita needed parks in order to grow.
Mr. Cox believed that without parks, Wichita would run the risk of becoming a concrete jungle inhabited by unhealthy, frustrated people.
While serving for 23 years as director of the city's Park and Recreation Department, the number of parks nearly doubled, from 29 to 53.
''He was very dedicated to the city," said Mr. Cox's son, James Cox. "He had the city's best interest at heart when he performed his job."
Emory Lee Cox died of heart failure Tuesday at Aurora Presbyterian Hospital in Aurora, Colo. He was 86.
A funeral service was held Saturday. A memorial has been established with the Emory and Helen Cox Scholarship Fund at Emporia State University.
In 1969, the Kansas Recreation and Park Association honored him as father of the professional movement in parks and recreation in Kansas. Mr. Cox was closely involved in the formation of the association and was inducted into its hall of fame in 1988.
Among Mr. Cox's most outstanding achievements, James Cox said, were the effective means of negotiation he developed for the sale of the former Wichita Municipal Airport to the U.S. Air Force. The area where the airport operated is the current location of McConnell Air Force Base.
In addition, Mr. Cox actively participated in the design and construction of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, James Cox said.
Other positions held by Mr. Cox included the national presidency of the Airport Operations Council and the city manager's post, which he held for one week.
James Cox said his father received many job offers from outside Wichita. But Mr. Cox turned them all down. "Wichita provided the things he thought were important," James Cox said.
Mr. Cox was a member of the Hebron Masonic Lodge No. 314 in Gridley, the White Rose Chapter of Eastern Star and the Wichita Consistory Lodge-Midian Shrine. He was a native of Compton, Calif., and a graduate of Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia and Iowa State University.
Mr. Cox is survived by his son, James of Englewood, Colo.; a sister, Bonnie Ware of Sacramento, Calif.; and two grandchildren.
Wichita Eagle
July 22, 1991
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