Marcella Cox

Cox, Marcella Maudine (Jenkins), 88, passed away Saturday, November 29, 2014. She was born on July 11, 1926 in Haviland, Kansas, the second child of Esther Alta (Calkins) Jenkins and Ralph Leroy Jenkins.

Marcella spent her early years in Wichita, Kansas where she attended East High School and worked at Boeing during WWII. After meeting the love of her life and dancing the night away at a USO club, she was married to Herman Lee Cox on August 6, 1943. Their life together produced four children. Love and devotion elevated their successes and sustained them during difficult times. Dancing would remain their favorite pastime throughout their marriage. She truly loved making a house a home. Teaching and creating were Marcella’s gifts. Communicating how to plan, how to do, and how to appreciate the process of accomplishment came natural to her. She was an extraordinary planner, problem solver, worker, communicator and storyteller. Her passion for any kind of needlework leaves a legacy of beautiful work for her family to cherish. She passed these skills to her children and grandchildren along with an appreciation for finding the beauty in everything. Marcella was also a career woman. She worked her way from bookkeeper to steel buyer to manufacturing manager, and on to the first woman senior manager in procurement at Boeing. Marcella dressed like a lady, acted like a lady but subtly competed like a man. Once exposed to her professional expertise, few crossed her and all admired her. She managed her teams at Boeing with skill and compassion while demanding excellence. She was very proud of her accomplishments at Boeing while still being viewed as a “Lady”.

Marcella was preceded in death by her mother and step-father, Esther and Irvin Boldrey; father and step mother, Ralph and Bertha Jenkins; brother, Bob Jenkins; sisters, Fontella Schock and Bonnie Kippin; son-in-law, Jim Weisiger; and her beloved husband, Herman Cox. She is survived by her sister, Evelyn Mueller; children, Marilyn (Larry) Kennedy, Jim Cox, Joyce Cox, and Patricia (Brian) Knott; grandchildren, Shaun (CeCie) Kennedy, Zahra Knott, Alex Cox; great-grandchildren, Hayes Kennedy, Chase Kennedy, Colson Kennedy.

Funeral: 10 am, Friday, December 5, 2014 at Smith Family Mortuary, 1415 N. Rock Rd., Derby, KS 67037 with visitation 1 hour prior. Marcella and Herman took pride in their work through the Wichita Chapter of the Shrine to benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Office of Development, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607.