RIP
Joseph A Cox Oct. 14th. 1925 - Jan. 22th. 2018
We have lost an irreplaceable human being! You will be missed!
Funeral Service Friday Feb. 2dn.2018
Tribute Wall
Joe Cox on Facebook
Joseph A Cox Oct. 14th. 1925 - Jan. 22th. 2018
We have lost an irreplaceable human being! You will be missed!
Funeral Service Friday Feb. 2dn.2018
Tribute Wall
Joe Cox on Facebook
Book Available Now!!!
The Life Story of WWII Submariner Joseph A. Cox
Paperback – November 2, 2017
Watch more videos here
Watch more videos here
Characters of Los Banos: Joe Cox has led an active life of service
By John Spevak
February 8, 2010
Joe Cox has seen a lot in his life: the fields of Arkansas, the roads of America on the way to California, the waters off Japan in a submarine, the snows of Alaska, the coasts of Korea in wartime, and the relative calm of Los Baños.
He worked as a farmer, an ag teacher, and a principal. And he has done more in his retirement than many people do in a lifetime: President of the Los Baños Golden Agers, Chairman of the Board of the Los Baños Unified School District, District Governor in Rotary, Chair of the California Seniors Legislature, and most recently National President of the U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II.
How does he do it? "I believe," he said, "the best way to stay healthy is stay active and get involved." At age 84 he continues to subscribe to this theory, as active and involved as ever.
Although he has been accomplished much in California, Joe is a native of Arkansas, born in 1925 in Booneville. As a kid he did chores on the farm where his family lived until he was six. Then in 1932, during the Great Depression, his family decided to leave Arkansas.
Six people--Joe and his two sisters, their mom, dad, and maternal grandmother--squeezed into one car with all of their belongings. Along the way they stopped in Oklahoma and Texas to stay with relatives for a while. Along the way they saw other travelers on the road, many escaping the Dust Bowl. Like their fellow travelers, the Cox family camped along the road at night. "It was my job to collect sticks for the campfire," Joe said.
They eventually landed in Reedley, CA, where a cousin lived--in a tent. The Cox family moved into the next tent over. They lived in tents for the following year before Joe's dad found a place to rent in Reedley.
When Joe finally went back to school at age eight, he missed out on two years of schooling. But before long he caught up with his classmates, which were many and diverse. His family moved from place to place in the Reedley area, wherever there was work. "My dad was willing to work long and hard at whatever job he could find to support his family," Joe said.
But that meant that Joe's life wasn't very stable. "One year, I moved eight different times, and changed schools eight times, sometimes returning to the same school I had left several months earlier." From that point on, Joe, who eventually devoted his life to education, had empathy for any student who had to overcome obstacles.
After graduating from Wahtoke Grammar School, Joe went to Reedley High. But even then he wasn't through moving, because his family relocated to Parlier. Joe enrolled in Parlier High--where he was active in sports, including football, basketball, and track--and stayed until he graduated, in December of 1944. The same guy who missed two years of elementary school completed high school in three and a half years.
By then Joe was 18, it was World War II, and he was eligible for the draft. He decided to enlist in the Navy, which, Joe said, "sounded better to me than the Army."
Based on the scores of his skills and aptitude tests, Joe was assigned to radio operators training after just five weeks of basic training. After the end of radio training, Joe and other seamen were asked if they wanted to volunteer to serve on submarines. Along with a hundred other young men, Joe volunteered. The Navy picked five of the volunteers, and Joe was one of them.
From there he went to submarine school, then was assigned to a tender ship, the U.S.S. Orion, which served as a repair station for subs. Later he was assigned to submarine U.S.S. Batfish, patrolling off the coasts of Japan, with the particular mission of "lifeguarding," finding pilots whose planes had been shot down and who had parachuted into the sea.
During that time Joe's sub was under fire from the air and sea, but fortunately his sub did not sustain significant damage. Then, while patrolling near Japan, the submarine crew heard that an American plane had dropped a bomb and destroyed an entire Japanese city. "None of us believed it," Joe said. But several days later they heard a second bomb had been dropped on another Japanese city. "We believed that report," Joe said, "and a few days later we received an order to 'cease hostilities.'"
After the war and after he was discharged, Joe got together with two of his buddies from the Navy and decided to see America. "Even though I was in the Navy, I hadn't seen much of the world," Joe said.
So the three bought a 1937 Chevy, overhauled it, and set out across country, starting from Reedley, going first to Yosemite, and eventually making it to Bar Harbor, Maine. "We had no itinerary, no plan," said Joe. "And if we heard of a good place, even if it was 500 miles from the main route, we headed for it." After six weeks of traveling by car they had seen a lot.
The three young men sold the car in Connecticut, divided the dollars, and went their own ways. Joe took a train back to California and returned to Reedley, where he saw a newspaper ad for radio operators to work for Pan American Airlines in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Joe applied, got the job, and worked in Alaska for two years. "It was beautiful country, but it was cold. When it got down to 62 degrees below zero, I realized I didn't want to live here the rest of my life." So Joe returned to Reedley and joined his brother-in-law, who had gone into farming.
After several years of farming in the Central Valley, from Reedley to Madera, they realized they weren't making a go of it. One day, as Joe tells it, "I was working in a peach orchard on a hot day, and sat down on the bottom step of a ladder and took a bite out of a sweet, ripe peach. As the sweat was dripping down my face, I asked myself, 'Why am I doing this?' And from that day forward I decided that I would pursue a college education."
Much of the credit for that decision Joe gives to his high school agriculture teacher, who for many years had encouraged Joe to continue his education. Up to the day of the peach, Joe hadn't thought too much about it because no one in his family had gone to college.
Joe enrolled in Reedley College, graduated with an A.A. degree, then transferred to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. "By then I had decided I wanted to be a high school ag teacher, so I chose dairy science as my major to round out my agricultural knowledge."
Joe, who had earlier signed up for the Naval Reserve, was in his first quarter at Cal Poly when he was called up to active duty to serve in the Korean War. He was assigned to the U.S.S. McDermut, a destroyer that was positioned off the shores of Korea and shelled coastal cities.
After two years of wartime service, Joe returned to Cal Poly and completed his degree. He continued there to complete his teaching credential, including a semester as an intern or "cadet" at Strathmore High School near Porterville.
Near the end of his credential work, Joe interviewed for several positions. His first choice was the Chico area, because, as Joe put it, "There were more girls there. After years of being around guys in the Navy and the Cal Poly ag program, I was ready to meet some girls."
But he was strongly encouraged by Cal Poly faculty to apply for the ag science teaching position at Los Baños High School. "I kept telling them, 'No, thank you,' and they kept saying, 'Give it a try.' Finally I gave in and went for an interview with the Los Baños principal, Carlyle Loftin."
Loftin liked him, invited Joe to his home for dinner, offered him the job, and persuaded him to take it, staring in July 1955--a 12-month job for a year's salary of $4,980. Joe became the agriculture department chair, working with Mr. Hillman, the ag mechanics instructor. He turned the ag department, which had not been doing well, into a highly respected program.
In the spring of 1963 Joe led the Los Baños High team to a first place finish in the state dairy judging contest, and then on to Waterloo, IA, where the team won the national dairy judging contest.
Meanwhile, Joe continued to take summer classes to prepare for other job opportunities in education. He earned a master's degree in education from Cal Poly in 1957. Later, in 1981, he earned his doctoral degree in education from the University of Southern California.
In the summer of 1963, when Carlyle Loftin was named the district superintendent and Sam Benidettino was named the principal of Los Baños High, Joe was named assistant principal. One of Joe's many jobs was to direct the adult education program. During that time he encouraged Modesto Junior College to offer evening classes in Los Baños
And when Merced College replaced Modesto in offering college classes locally, Joe was hired by Merced to run the evening program. Joe helped set the stage for the first complete campus when the Los Baños Campus of Merced College opened its doors in 1971.
In 1969, when Benidettino was named superintendent, Joe was named principal of Los Baños High School. He served as principal there until 1982, when he was transferred to the junior high. Joe retired in 1988, ran for the school board, was elected, and then served on the board for 12 years.
"I enjoyed my time in education," Joe said. "Like Mr. Loftin and Mr. Benidettino, my philosophy was 'Students first.' Above all, do things that will benefit students."
Since his retirement Joe has also been active in many different organizations. In each case he became a leader: in Rotary (District Governor), the Golden Agers (President), the California Seniors Legislature (Chair), and the United States Submarine Veterans (National President).
Why has he been so active in retirement? "When I retired," Joe said, "I noticed that many people who had retired traveled for a year or two and then died--mainly, I think, because they stopped doing things. I wanted to be different. I wanted to be active."
Joe believes that the motto of every retired person should be "Stay Active. Get Involved." In that way, Joe said, "They are not only helping others, they are keeping themselves healthy."
Over the years Joe has stayed active, stayed healthy, and used his talents to help organizations stay healthy, too. His life has been one of service to others, from the days on a submarine in World War II right up to the present.
Comments on the Characters of Los Baños are encouraged and can be sent via e-mail to spevak@telis.org.
By John Spevak
February 8, 2010
Joe Cox has seen a lot in his life: the fields of Arkansas, the roads of America on the way to California, the waters off Japan in a submarine, the snows of Alaska, the coasts of Korea in wartime, and the relative calm of Los Baños.
He worked as a farmer, an ag teacher, and a principal. And he has done more in his retirement than many people do in a lifetime: President of the Los Baños Golden Agers, Chairman of the Board of the Los Baños Unified School District, District Governor in Rotary, Chair of the California Seniors Legislature, and most recently National President of the U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II.
How does he do it? "I believe," he said, "the best way to stay healthy is stay active and get involved." At age 84 he continues to subscribe to this theory, as active and involved as ever.
Although he has been accomplished much in California, Joe is a native of Arkansas, born in 1925 in Booneville. As a kid he did chores on the farm where his family lived until he was six. Then in 1932, during the Great Depression, his family decided to leave Arkansas.
Six people--Joe and his two sisters, their mom, dad, and maternal grandmother--squeezed into one car with all of their belongings. Along the way they stopped in Oklahoma and Texas to stay with relatives for a while. Along the way they saw other travelers on the road, many escaping the Dust Bowl. Like their fellow travelers, the Cox family camped along the road at night. "It was my job to collect sticks for the campfire," Joe said.
They eventually landed in Reedley, CA, where a cousin lived--in a tent. The Cox family moved into the next tent over. They lived in tents for the following year before Joe's dad found a place to rent in Reedley.
When Joe finally went back to school at age eight, he missed out on two years of schooling. But before long he caught up with his classmates, which were many and diverse. His family moved from place to place in the Reedley area, wherever there was work. "My dad was willing to work long and hard at whatever job he could find to support his family," Joe said.
But that meant that Joe's life wasn't very stable. "One year, I moved eight different times, and changed schools eight times, sometimes returning to the same school I had left several months earlier." From that point on, Joe, who eventually devoted his life to education, had empathy for any student who had to overcome obstacles.
After graduating from Wahtoke Grammar School, Joe went to Reedley High. But even then he wasn't through moving, because his family relocated to Parlier. Joe enrolled in Parlier High--where he was active in sports, including football, basketball, and track--and stayed until he graduated, in December of 1944. The same guy who missed two years of elementary school completed high school in three and a half years.
By then Joe was 18, it was World War II, and he was eligible for the draft. He decided to enlist in the Navy, which, Joe said, "sounded better to me than the Army."
Based on the scores of his skills and aptitude tests, Joe was assigned to radio operators training after just five weeks of basic training. After the end of radio training, Joe and other seamen were asked if they wanted to volunteer to serve on submarines. Along with a hundred other young men, Joe volunteered. The Navy picked five of the volunteers, and Joe was one of them.
From there he went to submarine school, then was assigned to a tender ship, the U.S.S. Orion, which served as a repair station for subs. Later he was assigned to submarine U.S.S. Batfish, patrolling off the coasts of Japan, with the particular mission of "lifeguarding," finding pilots whose planes had been shot down and who had parachuted into the sea.
During that time Joe's sub was under fire from the air and sea, but fortunately his sub did not sustain significant damage. Then, while patrolling near Japan, the submarine crew heard that an American plane had dropped a bomb and destroyed an entire Japanese city. "None of us believed it," Joe said. But several days later they heard a second bomb had been dropped on another Japanese city. "We believed that report," Joe said, "and a few days later we received an order to 'cease hostilities.'"
After the war and after he was discharged, Joe got together with two of his buddies from the Navy and decided to see America. "Even though I was in the Navy, I hadn't seen much of the world," Joe said.
So the three bought a 1937 Chevy, overhauled it, and set out across country, starting from Reedley, going first to Yosemite, and eventually making it to Bar Harbor, Maine. "We had no itinerary, no plan," said Joe. "And if we heard of a good place, even if it was 500 miles from the main route, we headed for it." After six weeks of traveling by car they had seen a lot.
The three young men sold the car in Connecticut, divided the dollars, and went their own ways. Joe took a train back to California and returned to Reedley, where he saw a newspaper ad for radio operators to work for Pan American Airlines in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Joe applied, got the job, and worked in Alaska for two years. "It was beautiful country, but it was cold. When it got down to 62 degrees below zero, I realized I didn't want to live here the rest of my life." So Joe returned to Reedley and joined his brother-in-law, who had gone into farming.
After several years of farming in the Central Valley, from Reedley to Madera, they realized they weren't making a go of it. One day, as Joe tells it, "I was working in a peach orchard on a hot day, and sat down on the bottom step of a ladder and took a bite out of a sweet, ripe peach. As the sweat was dripping down my face, I asked myself, 'Why am I doing this?' And from that day forward I decided that I would pursue a college education."
Much of the credit for that decision Joe gives to his high school agriculture teacher, who for many years had encouraged Joe to continue his education. Up to the day of the peach, Joe hadn't thought too much about it because no one in his family had gone to college.
Joe enrolled in Reedley College, graduated with an A.A. degree, then transferred to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. "By then I had decided I wanted to be a high school ag teacher, so I chose dairy science as my major to round out my agricultural knowledge."
Joe, who had earlier signed up for the Naval Reserve, was in his first quarter at Cal Poly when he was called up to active duty to serve in the Korean War. He was assigned to the U.S.S. McDermut, a destroyer that was positioned off the shores of Korea and shelled coastal cities.
After two years of wartime service, Joe returned to Cal Poly and completed his degree. He continued there to complete his teaching credential, including a semester as an intern or "cadet" at Strathmore High School near Porterville.
Near the end of his credential work, Joe interviewed for several positions. His first choice was the Chico area, because, as Joe put it, "There were more girls there. After years of being around guys in the Navy and the Cal Poly ag program, I was ready to meet some girls."
But he was strongly encouraged by Cal Poly faculty to apply for the ag science teaching position at Los Baños High School. "I kept telling them, 'No, thank you,' and they kept saying, 'Give it a try.' Finally I gave in and went for an interview with the Los Baños principal, Carlyle Loftin."
Loftin liked him, invited Joe to his home for dinner, offered him the job, and persuaded him to take it, staring in July 1955--a 12-month job for a year's salary of $4,980. Joe became the agriculture department chair, working with Mr. Hillman, the ag mechanics instructor. He turned the ag department, which had not been doing well, into a highly respected program.
In the spring of 1963 Joe led the Los Baños High team to a first place finish in the state dairy judging contest, and then on to Waterloo, IA, where the team won the national dairy judging contest.
Meanwhile, Joe continued to take summer classes to prepare for other job opportunities in education. He earned a master's degree in education from Cal Poly in 1957. Later, in 1981, he earned his doctoral degree in education from the University of Southern California.
In the summer of 1963, when Carlyle Loftin was named the district superintendent and Sam Benidettino was named the principal of Los Baños High, Joe was named assistant principal. One of Joe's many jobs was to direct the adult education program. During that time he encouraged Modesto Junior College to offer evening classes in Los Baños
And when Merced College replaced Modesto in offering college classes locally, Joe was hired by Merced to run the evening program. Joe helped set the stage for the first complete campus when the Los Baños Campus of Merced College opened its doors in 1971.
In 1969, when Benidettino was named superintendent, Joe was named principal of Los Baños High School. He served as principal there until 1982, when he was transferred to the junior high. Joe retired in 1988, ran for the school board, was elected, and then served on the board for 12 years.
"I enjoyed my time in education," Joe said. "Like Mr. Loftin and Mr. Benidettino, my philosophy was 'Students first.' Above all, do things that will benefit students."
Since his retirement Joe has also been active in many different organizations. In each case he became a leader: in Rotary (District Governor), the Golden Agers (President), the California Seniors Legislature (Chair), and the United States Submarine Veterans (National President).
Why has he been so active in retirement? "When I retired," Joe said, "I noticed that many people who had retired traveled for a year or two and then died--mainly, I think, because they stopped doing things. I wanted to be different. I wanted to be active."
Joe believes that the motto of every retired person should be "Stay Active. Get Involved." In that way, Joe said, "They are not only helping others, they are keeping themselves healthy."
Over the years Joe has stayed active, stayed healthy, and used his talents to help organizations stay healthy, too. His life has been one of service to others, from the days on a submarine in World War II right up to the present.
Comments on the Characters of Los Baños are encouraged and can be sent via e-mail to spevak@telis.org.
