[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 126 (Monday, July 19, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ROBERT (BOB) COX

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ED PERLMUTTER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 19, 2021

  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Robert (Bob) 
E. Cox of Lakewood, Colorado who passed away on June 25, 2021.
  Bob grew up in Denver and graduated from East High School. He 
experienced other parts of the country before returning to Denver, 
where he finished his career in 1999. He retired in Santa Fe, New 
Mexico where he rebuilt an adobe home on the Chama River. He briefly 
attended the University of Miami and then studied political science and 
journalism at CU Boulder. During his career, he worked as editor of the 
Colorado Daily, a correspondent and regional executive at United Press 
International, politics reporter at the San Diego Union, managing 
editor at the Colorado Business Magazine, politics writer at the Rocky 
Mountain News, editor at Weekly Newspaper in Glenwood Springs, and 
editor of the Green Mountain Gazette. He also served as press secretary 
for Tim Wirth's first U.S. House of Representatives campaign in 1974.
  In 1991, he and his wife, Sid O'Connell, purchased the Jefferson 
County weeklies and formed a partnership with other Denver suburban 
newspapers. The weeklies covered the western suburbs of Denver 
including Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Arvada. The Coxes led their news 
and advertising teams to win many Colorado Press Association awards 
before selling the papers in 1999.
  Bob kept a sharp eye on the doings of elected officials, which was 
apparent in his many editorial columns. He coached his reporters to 
take time to dig for information and filled his editorials with 
directness yet wit and humor. Former staffers noted Bob's continual 
efforts to make time for some fun in the high-intensity work of news 
reporting as well as the high-level of respect many inside and outside 
of the journalism community had for Bob. He enjoyed lively 
conversations and kept folks on their toes with questions.
  In 2017, the dean of the College of Media, Communications and 
Journalism at CU Boulder, in an official ceremony, recognized Bob's 
life's accomplishments and retroactively awarded Bob a bachelor's 
degree in journalism, despite him being a couple of credits short in 
1968.
  Upon Bob's passing, his son, Kennedy Cox, said he felt he had lost 
his best friend. The father and son enjoyed engaging in musical 
endeavors--especially guitar--and traveling on the road to have semi-
philosophical conversations and spend time together.
  Bob is survived by his son; former wife, Sidnie O'Connell of 
Lakewood; sister Lynn Murphy of Seattle, Washington; niece Amie Servais 
of Sammamish, Washington; nephew Baxter Baldwin of Scottsdale, Arizona; 
and several great nieces and nephews. I am deeply grateful for his 
lifetime of service to our community.

                          ____________________