CHARLOTTE — Longtime parishioners of St. Gabriel Church, the late A. Lorraine and C. Richard “Dick” Cox, were fixtures in their parish community who, over the course of almost 40 years in the Diocese of Charlotte, contributed their time, talent and treasure to impact the lives of many people they never met.
Lorraine passed away in 1999, and Dick recently passed away March 15 at the age of 94. A retired CPA from Belk Stores, Cox and his wife volunteered in the parish office over the years, attended daily Mass and spent countless hours in the perpetual Adoration chapel at St. Gabriel Parish.
In his lifetime, Cox established three endowments with the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation: The A. Lorraine Cox and C. Richard Cox Priest Retirement Endowment Fund; The A. Lorraine Cox and C. Richard Cox Seminarian Education Endowment Fund; and The Bishop Curlin Endowment Fund for the Poor. The first two endowments were set up in 1998, the year before his wife Lorraine died. The third endowment was established in 2006 to honor Bishop William Curlin, who was a close friend.
“He was not a wealthy man but was very committed to stewardship of his time and financial resources,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “Many of us give 10 percent of our income to church and charity. Dick gave 50 percent of his income to church and charity after his wife died.”
Kelley noted that Cox was also committed to stewardship in his gift of time to his parish and his faith.
“He really was committed to giving 10 percent of his time. So he spent two hours and 24 minutes every day doing the following things: going to daily Mass, spending time in Adoration, praying and reading spiritual books,” he said.
“During his lifetime, he gave almost $600,000 to the Diocesan Support Appeal, Catholic Charities, Seminarian Education and the three endowments,” Kelley noted. “He also gave generously to his parish, St. Gabriel, and to other Catholic nonprofits.”
Cox’s son, Rich, recalled how his father had pictures drawn by the school children of St. Gabriel School hung up all throughout his apartment in the senior living center. His dad donated flowers on the first day of school and at Christmas and the students and staff expressed their thanks by offering prayers for him.
“He really got a lot out of the spiritual bouquets (from the students). It meant a lot to him,” Rich Cox said.
He also recounted a visit to the Diocesan Pastoral Center that really affected his father.
“The Catholic Charities visit really had an effect on him. He went to see what Catholic Charities was doing. He said he had to leave the building because he was crying, he was so moved,” he said.
The Cox family’s stewardship has been a model for others, Kelley also noted. “More and more people across the diocese are following Dick’s example by giving generously during their lifetime and by setting up endowments.”
Father Frank O’Rourke, retired pastor of St. Gabriel Parish, met the Cox family in the early 1980s.
“I knew Dick primarily for his devotion to the Eucharist,” Father O’Rourke said. “He attended daily Mass and was dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration. As time went on, when he was 90, he would come three or four times a day (to spend time in Adoration).”
“I knew him to be very supportive of priests,” he said. “I was happy to have been with him in the last couple of months of his life and had the privilege to celebrate the Eucharist at his deathbed.”
Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro, will be the main celebrant at Cox’s funeral Mass in Charlotte when public Masses are allowed again.
Monsignor Marcaccio noted that Cox had a deep love not only of Jesus and His Presence in the Eucharist, but of His priests.
"Dick knew Jesus Christ through a deep and abiding friendship of faith,” he recalled. “To keep their many children apprised of their comings and goings, Dick and his wife Loraine wrote a newsletter called ‘Jesus and Me’ which Dick continued after her death. In that letter Dick could and should have written ‘We’ instead of me, because he brought the presence of Christ with him into every relationship he entered – as a loving spouse, devoted parent, Christian in the marketplace, professional mentor, teacher, parishioner and friend. Dick was someone I relied on for his wise counsel and for his balanced perspective from the time of my first assignment as a priest. Dick loved the priesthood and through the endowments which he established he sought to secure the formation of our priests and to aid them in their retirement. All this he did in gratitude to us for bringing him the gift of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Whenever there was something occurring in my ministry that I thought could use the benefit of some extra prayer, I knew that I could just call him and he would make a Holy Hour daily for that intention. I think that as a former pilot Dick understood that even a priest needs a spiritual wingman. I will miss his joy, his picking at me, and his inspiring example of humble service. All of us who had the privilege of being Dick’s priest or pastor are better because of it. I feel as if I have lost a favorite uncle who was always in my corner. My consolation is our hope that he will now be helping our priests from heaven.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter