Obituary of Denise Mary Cox

Denise was born in Seattle at Swedish Hospital to parents George and Mabel Jack on June 19, 1952 and died March 15, 2023 at her home in Bothell. She grew up in the Ballard/Greenwood area of Seattle. Denise attended Saint Alphonsus grade school, Holy Angels High School and graduated from Tillamook High School. She married Jim Cox, June 15, 1974 at St. John’s Catholic Church in Seattle.

In her early working career, Denise worked at Sears Headquarters in Seattle filling customer orders, with her dad George. From there, she moved to Edmonds Toyota and was a Service Writer in the service department, where she met the man of her dreams, UPS deliveryman, Jim Cox.

Denise and Jim married in 1974 and then moved to Bothell in 1976 where they started their family. Jeff was born in 1976 and Ryan was born in 1979. They moved to their current home in 1981 where they’ve been for the past 41-years. Denise loved being a mom and taking care of the house and kids. She always loved to have people around and their house was always the center of the action as neighbors, friends and family gravitated towards Denise and her warm and welcoming home. Denise always said their house was a safe place where anyone was welcome. Friends and Family agree.

Denise loved to volunteer at the kids’ school and was always actively involved in PTA. She was awarded the PTA Golden Acorn for her years of volunteer work. She also loved to watch the kids sports and chauffeur them around to their various practices year ‘round. We’re not sure how she did it! When her grandchildren were older, you would also see “Mimi” Denise at every game cheering them on with a bag of her special homemade popcorn for the grandkids after a game.

As the kids got older, Denise decided to return to work at Rite Aid in Everett and later Philips Medical in Bothell for 10-years. She also worked at Paulsbo RV and Kuni Infiti as a receptionist until she retired in 2017. Denise loved the interaction between her co-workers and customers as that filled her with joy every day.

Denise had a variety of interests – She was an avid sports fan of Husky Football, the Sonics, Seahawks, Mariners and even the Cougs sometimes. She looked forward to playing fantasy football with the family every year. Denise loved to read and you could always find her with a book or kindle everywhere she went…romances and mysteries were her favorite. When she was younger she loved to golf with the ladies and bowl every week at Robinhood Lanes in Edmonds.

One of her greatest loves was being with her friends. Denise loved to talk and she would take every opportunity to have lunch, dinner or coffee with friends to gossip and share stories. One of her favorite activities for years was Bunco with the Girls once a month.

She loved traveling and spent a lot of time in Idaho, Hawaii, California, Arizona and the Washington Coast over the years. She especially loved the holidays. Christmas was her favorite time of year.

Denise was diagnosed with melanoma in 2021 and fought a courageous battle until the end. Her presence, her spirit and love of life put a smile on peoples’ faces. She will be sorely missed but never forgotten.

Denise is preceded in death by her mom and dad, brother Dennis and her son Jeff. She is survived by her husband Jim; son Ryan; grandchildren: Corey, Chloe, Lily, Caiden, Hudson, and Beckham; nephews: Denny, Randy, and Kyle; nieces Leslie and Kendyl; sister-in-law Karen and extended family members and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please provide donations to UW/Fred Hutch Cancer Research Centers.

A Rosary Prayer Service will be held March 30, 2023. 10:30am, with Funeral Mass beginning at 11am at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Bothell - 2316 180th St SE, Bothell, WA 98012.