Our beloved son, brother, uncle, nephew and cousin, Jim Cox, died Friday, July 27th in a mid-air helicopter collision over Phoenix. While we mourn his loss and feel that we will never recover from this, we are comforted by the fact that he died doing the things he loved; filming for his TV station and flying in a helicopter.
Jim was born in Kingston, New York on February 20th, 1970, one day before our mother's birthday. It was the best gift his Mom could ever receive. At age 3, he moved with his family to Huntington, Long Island, where he spent an idyllic childhood. His siblings, Leslie and Jenny, will never forget swimming with him in the backyard pool, playing at the beach, or just being goofy with their fun, active, kid brother. While he loved his adopted state of Arizona, he was a true New Yorker, through and through, and never forgot the state from which he came.
He attended Saint Anthony High School for several years and eventually graduated from Huntington High School. He then moved out to the beautiful southwest to attend Arizona State. He dearly loved his college and the amazing new area in which he found himself. He took advantage of it from the very beginning; going to the Grand Canyon, on his own or with the family; skiing outside of Flagstaff; or driving over to California or another neighboring state for the weekend. Whenever we called him, during college, he seemed to be on another road trip. We often wondered if he attended classes or if the diploma he received on graduation was actually real. He did and it was. That was just Jimmy for you - he could do it all and have a lot of fun doing it.
After college, Jim took a couple of different jobs, including working for the Arizona Cardinals, before going to work for Channel 3. He immediately fell in love with his job there and the people he worked with. He was an amazing photographer, both still and video, as well as a great editor. Everyone loved working with him, knowing that he was a perfectionist and that their work would be even better because of him. He also became an avid helicopter enthusiast and always jumped at the chance to go on an assignment with Bruce or Scott. He even planned to get his pilot's license and was in the process of doing this when he died.
Besides work, Jim was passionate and talented at so many other things. He spent years, for instance, renovating his house, making it a true showcase. He was also extremely athletic, becoming proficient at numerous sports: skiing, sailing and golf to name a few. But his true passion was his family. We had all just attended a family reunion in New York about two months ago, and thank goodness we did. It was truly a magical week of reconnecting with our aunt, our cousins and immediate family. His nieces and nephew always looked forward to getting together with "Uncle Dude". He was youthful, a little bit wild, always had great stories of his work or his life, and LOVED to play. He was a kid at heart.
Jim is survived by his mother and father, Alan and Barbara Cox, sisters Leslie Cox-Sanford and Jennifer Cox, brother-in-law Duane Sanford, nieces Natalie and Emily Busi, nephew Nate Sanford, aunt, Gail Mazur, and cousins Tom Mazur, Steve and Traci Mazur and Kathy and Dan DeSimone. He also leaves behind his wonderful girlfriend, Suzanne Laird.
While we will never get over this loss, or recover from this tragedy, I do hope that we can learn something from Jimmy. We should try to live life like him - passionately, with conviction and with a true zeal for life. Jim will never, ever be forgotten - he was too special a person - and we all need to try to be like him.
Jim was born in Kingston, New York on February 20th, 1970, one day before our mother's birthday. It was the best gift his Mom could ever receive. At age 3, he moved with his family to Huntington, Long Island, where he spent an idyllic childhood. His siblings, Leslie and Jenny, will never forget swimming with him in the backyard pool, playing at the beach, or just being goofy with their fun, active, kid brother. While he loved his adopted state of Arizona, he was a true New Yorker, through and through, and never forgot the state from which he came.
He attended Saint Anthony High School for several years and eventually graduated from Huntington High School. He then moved out to the beautiful southwest to attend Arizona State. He dearly loved his college and the amazing new area in which he found himself. He took advantage of it from the very beginning; going to the Grand Canyon, on his own or with the family; skiing outside of Flagstaff; or driving over to California or another neighboring state for the weekend. Whenever we called him, during college, he seemed to be on another road trip. We often wondered if he attended classes or if the diploma he received on graduation was actually real. He did and it was. That was just Jimmy for you - he could do it all and have a lot of fun doing it.
After college, Jim took a couple of different jobs, including working for the Arizona Cardinals, before going to work for Channel 3. He immediately fell in love with his job there and the people he worked with. He was an amazing photographer, both still and video, as well as a great editor. Everyone loved working with him, knowing that he was a perfectionist and that their work would be even better because of him. He also became an avid helicopter enthusiast and always jumped at the chance to go on an assignment with Bruce or Scott. He even planned to get his pilot's license and was in the process of doing this when he died.
Besides work, Jim was passionate and talented at so many other things. He spent years, for instance, renovating his house, making it a true showcase. He was also extremely athletic, becoming proficient at numerous sports: skiing, sailing and golf to name a few. But his true passion was his family. We had all just attended a family reunion in New York about two months ago, and thank goodness we did. It was truly a magical week of reconnecting with our aunt, our cousins and immediate family. His nieces and nephew always looked forward to getting together with "Uncle Dude". He was youthful, a little bit wild, always had great stories of his work or his life, and LOVED to play. He was a kid at heart.
Jim is survived by his mother and father, Alan and Barbara Cox, sisters Leslie Cox-Sanford and Jennifer Cox, brother-in-law Duane Sanford, nieces Natalie and Emily Busi, nephew Nate Sanford, aunt, Gail Mazur, and cousins Tom Mazur, Steve and Traci Mazur and Kathy and Dan DeSimone. He also leaves behind his wonderful girlfriend, Suzanne Laird.
While we will never get over this loss, or recover from this tragedy, I do hope that we can learn something from Jimmy. We should try to live life like him - passionately, with conviction and with a true zeal for life. Jim will never, ever be forgotten - he was too special a person - and we all need to try to be like him.
Our beloved son, brother, uncle, nephew and cousin, Jim Cox, died Friday, July 27th in a mid-air helicopter collision over Phoenix. While we mourn his loss and feel that we will never recover from this, we are comforted by the fact that he died doing the things he loved; filming for his TV station and flying in a helicopter.
Jim was born in Kingston, New York on February 20th, 1970, one day before our mother's birthday. It was the best gift his Mom could ever receive. At age 3, he moved with his family to Huntington, Long Island, where he spent an idyllic childhood. His siblings, Leslie and Jenny, will never forget swimming with him in the backyard pool, playing at the beach, or just being goofy with their fun, active, kid brother. While he loved his adopted state of Arizona, he was a true New Yorker, through and through, and never forgot the state from which he came.
He attended Saint Anthony High School for several years and eventually graduated from Huntington High School. He then moved out to the beautiful southwest to attend Arizona State. He dearly loved his college and the amazing new area in which he found himself. He took advantage of it from the very beginning; going to the Grand Canyon, on his own or with the family; skiing outside of Flagstaff; or driving over to California or another neighboring state for the weekend. Whenever we called him, during college, he seemed to be on another road trip. We often wondered if he attended classes or if the diploma he received on graduation was actually real. He did and it was. That was just Jimmy for you - he could do it all and have a lot of fun doing it.
After college, Jim took a couple of different jobs, including working for the Arizona Cardinals, before going to work for Channel 3. He immediately fell in love with his job there and the people he worked with. He was an amazing photographer, both still and video, as well as a great editor. Everyone loved working with him, knowing that he was a perfectionist and that their work would be even better because of him. He also became an avid helicopter enthusiast and always jumped at the chance to go on an assignment with Bruce or Scott. He even planned to get his pilot's license and was in the process of doing this when he died.
Besides work, Jim was passionate and talented at so many other things. He spent years, for instance, renovating his house, making it a true showcase. He was also extremely athletic, becoming proficient at numerous sports: skiing, sailing and golf to name a few. But his true passion was his family. We had all just attended a family reunion in New York about two months ago, and thank goodness we did. It was truly a magical week of reconnecting with our aunt, our cousins and immediate family. His nieces and nephew always looked forward to getting together with "Uncle Dude". He was youthful, a little bit wild, always had great stories of his work or his life, and LOVED to play. He was a kid at heart.
Jim is survived by his mother and father, Alan and Barbara Cox, sisters Leslie Cox-Sanford and Jennifer Cox, brother-in-law Duane Sanford, nieces Natalie and Emily Busi, nephew Nate Sanford, aunt, Gail Mazur, and cousins Tom Mazur, Steve and Traci Mazur and Kathy and Dan DeSimone. He also leaves behind his wonderful girlfriend, Suzanne Laird.
While we will never get over this loss, or recover from this tragedy, I do hope that we can learn something from Jimmy. We should try to live life like him - passionately, with conviction and with a true zeal for life. Jim will never, ever be forgotten - he was too special a person - and we all need to try to be like him.
Jim was born in Kingston, New York on February 20th, 1970, one day before our mother's birthday. It was the best gift his Mom could ever receive. At age 3, he moved with his family to Huntington, Long Island, where he spent an idyllic childhood. His siblings, Leslie and Jenny, will never forget swimming with him in the backyard pool, playing at the beach, or just being goofy with their fun, active, kid brother. While he loved his adopted state of Arizona, he was a true New Yorker, through and through, and never forgot the state from which he came.
He attended Saint Anthony High School for several years and eventually graduated from Huntington High School. He then moved out to the beautiful southwest to attend Arizona State. He dearly loved his college and the amazing new area in which he found himself. He took advantage of it from the very beginning; going to the Grand Canyon, on his own or with the family; skiing outside of Flagstaff; or driving over to California or another neighboring state for the weekend. Whenever we called him, during college, he seemed to be on another road trip. We often wondered if he attended classes or if the diploma he received on graduation was actually real. He did and it was. That was just Jimmy for you - he could do it all and have a lot of fun doing it.
After college, Jim took a couple of different jobs, including working for the Arizona Cardinals, before going to work for Channel 3. He immediately fell in love with his job there and the people he worked with. He was an amazing photographer, both still and video, as well as a great editor. Everyone loved working with him, knowing that he was a perfectionist and that their work would be even better because of him. He also became an avid helicopter enthusiast and always jumped at the chance to go on an assignment with Bruce or Scott. He even planned to get his pilot's license and was in the process of doing this when he died.
Besides work, Jim was passionate and talented at so many other things. He spent years, for instance, renovating his house, making it a true showcase. He was also extremely athletic, becoming proficient at numerous sports: skiing, sailing and golf to name a few. But his true passion was his family. We had all just attended a family reunion in New York about two months ago, and thank goodness we did. It was truly a magical week of reconnecting with our aunt, our cousins and immediate family. His nieces and nephew always looked forward to getting together with "Uncle Dude". He was youthful, a little bit wild, always had great stories of his work or his life, and LOVED to play. He was a kid at heart.
Jim is survived by his mother and father, Alan and Barbara Cox, sisters Leslie Cox-Sanford and Jennifer Cox, brother-in-law Duane Sanford, nieces Natalie and Emily Busi, nephew Nate Sanford, aunt, Gail Mazur, and cousins Tom Mazur, Steve and Traci Mazur and Kathy and Dan DeSimone. He also leaves behind his wonderful girlfriend, Suzanne Laird.
While we will never get over this loss, or recover from this tragedy, I do hope that we can learn something from Jimmy. We should try to live life like him - passionately, with conviction and with a true zeal for life. Jim will never, ever be forgotten - he was too special a person - and we all need to try to be like him.
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