Mary Linda Cox Obituary (1953

Mary Linda Cox was born on Palm Sunday morning, March 29, 1953, to Mary Frances McElrath Cox and Carman Leroy Cox in Columbia, MO. She was their first child. She spent the first three years of her life there and welcomed her brother, Thomas Leroy, to her family when she was 18 months old. She enjoyed attending Memorial Baptist Church and had many vivid memories of her years in Columbia. In 1956, her family moved to Grinnell, IA where her two sisters were born, Frances Lee and Carmen Sue. Mary Linda attended kindergarten at Bailey Park School which was across the street from her home. She especially enjoyed the playground there as it was a testing center for the Miracle Recreation Equipment Company based in Grinnell. The candy cane striped swing sets, the stiff spring-based animals, and the elephant slide were her favorite pieces. In the spring of 1959, the family moved to the town of Normal, IL, due to her father’s transfer with General Telephone Company (now Verizon), where Mary Linda attended 1st grade at Central School. It was once again across the street from where the family lived in a rental home while their house was being built. When they moved to Margaret Avenue, she then attended 2nd-6th grade at the newest school in Normal, Oakdale Elementary School, where all students walked, as there was no need for buses yet. For 7th and 8th grade she was bused across town to Chiddix Junior High School and then walked (or drove a car) to Normal Community High School for 9th – 12th grades. She graduated in 1971, 13th in a class of 435. Mary Linda studied piano under Mrs. Marguerite Nenne, enjoyed Girl Scouts, played oboe, sang in the chorus, was involved with the madrigals, accompanied chorus, played in the marching band and concert band, played piano in the Jazz Band and was very active in the Drama and Thespian groups. She enjoyed arts and crafts, sewing, cooking and creating in about any medium. Mary Linda became a Christian, was baptized, and was active in the First Southern Baptist Church of Bloomington, IL (later renamed Vale Street Baptist Church and now known as Vale Church). She participated in the first Girls Auxiliary (GA) group started there and worked through the studies, from Maiden to Queen Regent-in-Service. She later, along with her family, because a charter member of College Avenue Baptist Church in Normal. While in high school, she worked for 2 ½ years at General Telephone Company at the downtown Bloomington facility as a telephone operator. In the fall of 1971, Mary Linda began studies at Furman University in Greenville, SC focusing on music education, voice, and piano. During the summer of 1972, she worked at Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center in NC as a staffer in the dining hall. She requested to be placed in the “Kiddy Korner” which was where the babies and families with children ate. More work, more messes, but lots of fun. She spent the summer of 1973 at Illinois State University working on general education requirements so that she could spend her fall semester on a study abroad program in Vienna, Austria. In August 1973, Mary Linda went with the Furman Concert choir as guests of the city of Vienna for a Bach Symposium. Near the beginning of the tour, while high stepping a polka in the City Park in Vienna, she broke her ankle and could not sing for any of the concerts. It did not stop her though from enjoying her time in Vienna, as she got a walking cast and still climbed the Rax Mountains and back. While the rest of the choir returned home, Mary Linda and other classmates stayed for the Fall Semester to study in Vienna. Most of her classes were in German, she traveled many other places during that time, and that semester prepared her for future vocal study. Mary Linda served as a Home Mision Board Summer Missionary to Ocean City, NJ the summer of 1974. She and two other girls gathered information on the level of interest in starting a new church. As a result of their efforts, there is a church in that area today. After graduating from Furman University, Magna Cum Laude, in 1975 with a Bachelor of Music in Education, she began studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. She was accepted into the Voice Performance candidacy. While at seminary, Mary Linda was active at Walnut Street Baptist Church, Louisville, singing on television with them, then in a paid double quartet at Frist Presbyterian Church and later as a part-time music director for First United Methodist Church, New Albany, IN. Mary Linda graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in May 1977 with a Masters in Voice Performance and a Masters in Church Music. After graduation, she sang professionally with “The Stephen Foster Story” in Bardstown, KY. The first two professional ministry jobs for Mary Linda were as a full time Minister of Music and Youth at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Dillon, SC and then at Rice Memorial Baptist Church in Greenwood, SC as the Minister of Music and Education. In 1980, Mary Linda decided to make a career change and returned to Normal, IL, enrolled in Illinois State University into the Informational Technology program which would lead her into a decades long career as a computer programmer with State Farm Corporate Headquarters later that year. Once back in the Bloomington Normal area, Mary Linda because active in Community Players. She sang leads in Carousel, The King and I, Brigadoon, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Sound of Music and participated in many of other productions with her sewing and leadership expertise. During those years she was a member of Eastview Christian Church and sang for their Living Christmas Tree productions and played the role of Pilate’s wife for two years in the American Passion Play in Bloomington. Mary Linda spent 4 years back in the Greenville, SC area, pioneering telecommuting with State Farm, to help take care of her mother upon the sudden death of her father in 1998. When she returned to the Bloomington-Normal area, she continued her career with State Farm, retiring in 2011. Mary Linda loved to travel and did so to the Caribbean, five weeks to China when her parents were serving there as university teachers, Great Britian, the Mediterranean, the second ever Disney cruise, the Scandinavian countries, Romania, plus many locations in the states both as a child and an adult. If her health had been better, she would have traveled even more. She was thankful to those who included her in their travels or helped in her last few years to still travel. Mary Linda opened her first formal music studio in 1977 for voice and piano and continued that until her health declined. She loved her students and was very interested in all aspects of their lives and was delighted to remain in touch with them. Active in Bible Study Fellowship and later a member again at Vale Church, Mary Linda loved to garden, cook, decorate, take photos, collect cookbooks, and was a Lia Sophia Jewelry distributor for many years. Mary Linda was a doting and active aunt and an interested great aunt. Her 15 nieces and nephews, though scattered across the country and world, were a joy to her. She was delighted to teach piano and voice to several of the ones who lived in Mahomet. She was glad to welcome all her 27 great nieces and nephews into this world and appreciated it when they were able to visit her at The Loft. And for those who knew Mary Linda, they also are aware that she loved dachshunds, particularly miniature dachshunds, and was a kind mother to them through the years. Her love of music spilled over into many of their names – Motzi, Melody, Harmony. Her little Harmony has been lovingly cared for by others for the past two years. Mary Linda Cox, 72, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 23, 2026, at The Loft in Normal. She had several health issues through the years, and the family appreciates the care and patience of the doctors, medical personnel, emergency operators, and other attendants who helped her manage her needs. Her memorial service will be held later in the year at J.H. Churchill Funeral Home, Murray, KY. Burial will follow in the Murray City Cemetery, Murray, KY. Please contact the family for details. Mary Linda was born on March 29, 1953, in Columbia, MO, the daughter of Leroy and Mary Frances (McElrath) Cox. They preceded her in death. Her birthday once again this year would have been on Palm Sunday. She is survived by three siblings, Tom (Suzanne) Cox, Champaign, Fran (Steve) Street, Mahomet and Carmen (Jeff) Taylor, Cumming, GA; 15 nieces and nephews and 27 great nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to Vale Church, 3211 Ireland Grove Road, Bloomington, IL 61704 https://vale.church/ or to The Mary Linda Cox Festival Fund with checks made out to Orpheus Club, c/o Nancy Pounds, 2902 Coventry Ct., Bloomington, IL 61704. https://orpheusclub-nfmc.com/festival The majority of the above was written by Mary Linda in 1999 with the balance added by her family. To express condolences online, please visit www.carmodyflynn.com.