Shannon Kelly, Altavista Journal
“I hope we see more of each other in years to come,” Jabo Cox wrote in his sweetheart, Doris’s, yearbook decades ago. He signed the paragraph-length note with “yours always.” The young lovers would indeed see more of each other in years to come. Last weekend, Jabo and Doris Cox celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
Several of the couple’s children planned and organized a surprise anniversary party to honor their parents on their diamond anniversary. Over one hundred friends and family members gathered to celebrate the couple who has touched all their lives. Some guests came from as far as Florida.
Jabo and Doris Cox, lifelong locals, first met in grade school and developed romantic interest in each other during their teenage years, when Jabo was the driver of Doris’s school bus. The two married in 1958, when Doris was 16 and Jabo was 19. By 1963, Jabo had opened his own business, Cox’s Repair Shop, and Doris was a full-time mother. Indeed, parenthood was a full-time job and joy for both of them. Over the course of their 60 year marriage, the couple had 5 biological children, adopted 3 more, and fostered a total of 25. “They gave and gave and gave,” says daughter Glenda Wood. “It was so great,” she adds, reflecting on growing up with foster siblings. She remembers no jealousy; everyone was always one happy, loving family. “There was always a lot of love in our house,” says Kelly, another daughter. “I think them being the people they are turned us into the people we are today.” Kelly feels that the biggest things she learned from her parents were her mother’s heart, and her father’s work ethic.
Their children were not the only ones who benefited from the Coxes big hearts. Many community members and strangers were touched as well, especially through Jabo’s auto repair business. “If somebody needed help, he was there,” son Jarrett says of his father. He recalls accompanying Jabo on periodic emergency calls in the middle of the night to help stranded travelers having vehicle trouble. On some occasions, Jarrett says, Jabo paid for a motel room for stranded individuals to stay in while he repaired their car. “He would give anybody the shirt off his back if they needed it,” Jarrett states.
Faith, family, and giving are three major pillars of the Coxes lives. But what is the secret to reaching one’s diamond anniversary, the sixtieth year of marriage? “Giving and taking,” Jabo says. “You give some, and you take some.” “The good Lord has brought us through,” Doris adds as they smile lovingly at each other.
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