Rev. Silas

COX, Rev. Silas - Age 86, passed away Thursday, September 30, 2010 at McLaren Regional Medical Center. Family hour 10 a.m. Saturday, October 9, 2010 at Foss Avenue Baptist Church, 1159 E. Foss Ave., with funeral service commencing at 11 a.m., Pastor Reginald Flynn D.Min, officiating. Interment Monday, October 11, 2010 at Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, MI. Family and friends will assemble at the church 10 a.m. Saturday. Rev. Cox will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed from 12Noon-8 p.m. Friday. Rev. Silas E. Cox was born on November 4, 1924 in Paducah, KY, the son of Rosa Cox Cummings, who was a single mother of three boys, of which Silas was the youngest. He went to Lincoln High School in Paducah where he graduated in June of 1942. Rev. Cox then married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Ballard, and a few months later moved to Dayton, OH. From this union four boys and three girls were born. Rev. Cox served in the U.S. Navy and received an Honorable Discharge in 1946. He later attended Wilberforce University and Sinclair Community College, where he received his Associate Degree in Business. Rev. Cox was employed at Master Electric until 1960, when he went to work at General Motors in Dayton. During this time he acquired a license as a Real Estate Broker and started Cox Realty. Rev. Cox left GM in 1969 for a position as a Project Director at Dayton Model Cities. He headed several project teams on urban renewal and revitalization in the greater Dayton area. Rev. Cox and his family later relocated to Flint, MI in 1973 upon accepting a position as a City Project Manager before he retired. In 1982, Rev. Cox heard the call of the Lord and became a member of Foss Avenue Baptist Church. Less than two years later he was ordained as a deacon and served in the ministry for the next four years. Rev. Cox finally accepted his ministerial calling in 1990 and had been serving as an Associate Minister at Foss Avenue Church. He was diligently involved in preaching; whether it was to church congregates, jail inmates or hospital patients. Rev. Cox also led evangelism teams throughout the Flint area. Rev. Silas E. Cox leaves to cherish his memory: his beloved wife of 68 years, Mary Onell (Ballard) Cox of Flint, MI; 3 sons; Phillip (Rosalyn) Cox, Jerry Cox, both of Dayton, OH, Gordon (Gwendolyn) Cox of Rochester, MI; 3 daughters, Brenda Dunson, Roseanna Hughes, both of Dayton, OH, Deborah Cox, of Waterford, MI; sister-in-law Mary L. Miller of St. Louis, MO; as well as 17 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great grandchildren; he also leaves a host of family and friends in the greater Dayton, OH and Flint, MI area. Rev. Cox was preceded in death by his infant son, Danny Cox; mother, Rosa Cox Cummings; brothers, Odell Cox, all of Paducah, KY, Arnell Cox of Los Angeles, CA, daughter-in-law, Patricia Cox; son-in-law, Travis Dunson, both of Dayton, OH. The Cox family would like to express a special thanks to the entire Foss Avenue Baptist Church Family and the McLaren Regional Medical Center ICU Team. We appreciate your kind expressions of love and concern during this difficult time. God will bless each and every one of you always with His love.