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Glenn Andrew Cox, Jr. died on Friday, September 29, in Dallas, Texas. He was 94 years old. After a life of many accomplishments, Glenn will be most remembered by his family and many friends for his mischievous sense of humor, gentlemanly grace, politeness, consideration of others, conviction, and generosity.
Glenn was born in 1929 in Sedalia, Missouri. With his younger sister Helen, he grew up on a small farm outside of town and enjoyed a childhood that included lots of chores. He expressed particular distaste for having to clean out the henhouse, even though fried chicken remained his favorite meal for the rest of his life. For grades 1-8, Glenn attended Striped College, a two-room schoolhouse named for its vertically striped paint. His parents’ farmhouse was electrified when he was in the fifth grade, aiding his studies as he no longer had to read by kerosene lamplight.
After Striped College, Glenn transferred to Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia. He tried out for the football team, but after absorbing several hard hits, decided to focus on less painful extracurricular activities, and eventually served as Editor-in-Chief of the 1947 yearbook. Between chores, studies, activities, and part-time jobs, Glenn also found time to earn his Eagle Scout Badge.
Glenn planned to work at a paint store after graduation and had not considered college, but his Methodist minister intervened and arranged a visit by a representative of Central College (now Central Methodist University) in Fayette, Missouri. Glenn received a scholarship from Central and attended for two years. During one summer, he worked on the grain harvest as it moved northward through western Kansas, and during the next, for the U.S. Forest Service in the Sierra Nevada mountains, fighting the blister rust tree infestation. In 1950, he enrolled at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where he completed a BA degree in business administration. More notably, at SMU he met Veronica Martin (Ronnie), the love of his life and his wife of 67 years.
Immediately upon graduation, Glenn began four years as a B-29 and C-124 pilot in the Air Force, where he developed a love of flying and gained a treasure trove of formative experiences, lifelong friends, and exciting stories that he would later tell to his children and grandchildren (including one about a seat-of-the-pants night landing in Bermuda on the last possible pass before he would have been forced to bail out, related in his typically understated fashion). Glenn and Ronnie decided to get married as soon as he received his first commission. The commission was issued in December 1952, and Glenn became a 2nd Lieutenant and got his wings. True to plan, Glenn and Ronnie were married at Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa a few weeks later, on January 3, 1953. They began a lifetime of shared love and effort as they moved around the country with the Strategic Air Command, started and raised a family, and as Glenn embarked on his business career.
Glenn joined Phillips Petroleum in 1956 with the Treasury Department in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. There were six transfers over the next several years before Glenn returned to Bartlesville, where most of his next ten years were spent on international finance, primarily related to Phillips’ operations in South America. He played an important role in arranging financing for the Ekofisk Oil Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, which remains one of the most important fields in the North Sea. Glenn was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and became a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. The mid-1980s were a turbulent time in the oil industry and for Phillips in particular. Phillips withstood two takeover attempts, first by Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens and then by Carl Icahn, the New York financier, during which Phillips acquired sizable debt. Glenn was instrumental in arranging the financing needed to maintain Phillips’ independence, and in 1985, he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer, serving alongside Pete Silas, Chief Executive Officer. Glenn retired in 1991 at the age of 62 after a career spanning 35 years.
Both during and after his career with Phillips, Glenn was a devoted supporter of the Bartlesville community and other causes that were important to him. In Bartlesville, Glenn was deeply involved with the First United Methodist Church, OK Mozart, the Bartlesville Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts, and the Price Tower Arts Center. Glenn was particularly proud of his local and national awards from the Boy Scouts, including the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Awards. In 2021, the Price Tower Arts Center exhibited “The Love of Art: The Cox Collection,” celebrating the art that Glenn and Ronnie collected during his retirement years. Glenn and Ronnie were inducted into the Bartlesville Hall of Fame in 2013, in recognition of their contributions to the community. Among his many additional honors, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, where he was delighted to be included with Gene Autry, his favorite cowboy.
Glenn was a major supporter of Central Methodist University (CMU), the institution he credits for broadening his horizons, and he served CMU as a member and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for many years. He also served on the Board of Trustees for SMU, the Oklahoma State Board of Regents for Higher Education, and numerous corporate boards including Bank of Oklahoma, Helmerich & Payne, Cimarex, Union Texas Petroleum, and Williams Companies. To Ronnie’s consternation, Glenn piloted his single-engine Cessna to board functions and to their Colorado summer home whenever possible.
Glenn was a great dad, encouraging and supportive of his children. As is common, from the perspective of an adolescent, he could seem annoyingly certain, but with maturity and the passage of time, all of his children came to deeply appreciate his conviction, humor, vision, love, and guidance. He is beloved by his five grandchildren, and recently became a great-grandfather. He has inspired his children and grandchildren with how he treats other people, truly embodying the Golden Rule.
Glenn lived at CC Young Senior Living in Dallas from 2021 until his death. His family would like to thank CC Young and the talented caregivers who helped Glenn enjoy his life there.
Glenn is survived by son Martin and his wife Sherry Tucker (Dallas, TX), son Grant and his wife Elizabeth Sager (Redding, CT), daughter Cecelia and her wife Shelly Skeen (Dallas, TX), five grandchildren (Avery, Helen, Ella, Sam, and Mateo), and great-grandchild Ronan. A memorial service to celebrate Glenn’s life is scheduled to take place at Bartlesville First Church on November 18, 2023, at 2:00 pm.
In celebration of Glenn’s life, please consider donations to the Bartlesville Community Foundation (bartlesvillecf.org).
Services have been entrusted to Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home. Online condolences can be left at www.honoringmemories.com.
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