Frank & Bright Funeral Home
Johnnie Cox
Sep 20th, 1937 - Mar 20th, 2025Johnnie W. Cox, age 87, of Clay City, Illinois, passed away Thursday night, March 20, 2025, at Axiom Gardens Care Center in Flora.
He was born September 20, 1937, in Hobart, Oklahoma, the son of Thurman Henry and Ovie Francis (Rogers) Cox. On December 15, 1955, Johnnie married the love of his life, Shirley Dennis, in Salem, Illinois. Together they shared 59 wonderful years of memories. Shirley passed away on May 2, 2015.
Johnnie worked for the International Shoe Company, served as a foreman at Silgan Plastics, and made deliveries for Throgmorton-Powless Pharmacy. He also farmed. He enjoyed fishing and hunting, loved music—especially country and gospel—and sometimes even sang karaoke. He was a longtime mushroom hunter, liked reading and working on word search books, and spent some of his spare time building birdhouses. He once had a passion for riding his motorcycle. Johnnie wasn’t shy about his support for Donald J. Trump, and he was very proud of his Trump t-shirt and a signed photo, inscribed personally to him by the recently elected President.
He is survived by his daughter: Rhonda Baker-Sullens (Will Kirk) of Clay City; grandchildren: Denby Joe (Carla) Baker of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Kia Marie Baker (Jackie Jackson) of Clay City; 4 great-grandchildren: Khierra Beal and Weston Beal of Foss, Oklahoma, Takisha Baker of Kinmundy, and Michael R. Persinger of Flora; 3 great-great-grandchildren: Kinsley Jo Weston, Kace Eugene Weston, and River Stultz; siblings: Erma (Jack) Keele of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Marie Dennis of Flora, and Vernon (Ruth) Cox of Springdale, Arkansas; an uncle: Calvin Cox of East St. Louis, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and special friends.
He was preceded in passing by his wife: Shirley Cox (2015); father: Thurman Cox (1988); mother: Ovie Cox (2001); 3 brothers: Delbert Cox (2022), Ralph Wayne Cox (1995), and James Henry Cox (2018); and 3 sisters: Virginia Markley (2019), Nadine Hamilton (2021), and Mary Lou Cox (1951).
A funeral ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at Frank & Bright Funeral Home in Flora. Interment will follow in Clay City Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home. Memorial donations are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association, and these will be accepted through the funeral home. To share a condolence or memory, visit: www.frankandbright.com