Venoila V. Cox

Venoila Vermillion George
Venoila was born on July 18, 1913, in Mercer, Missouri, to Maggie and Eugene George. Her older sister, Gertrude or "Sis", was just 18 months old. Eugene left them before Venoila turned one, so she, her sister and her mother went to live with Grandma Julia Ann Hamblin. Grandma Hamblin grew all their food in their garden while her mother, Maggie George, worked as a seamstress to support them. Life was very tough for ladies living on their own in those days since there weren't any social services, just helpful friends and family.
Due to two major illnesses, Venoila was a couple years behind in school and finished with an eighth grade education at age 16. At this point, her grandma was getting older and it was getting harder to feed, clothe and house all four women in Mercer. So, Venoila, her sister and mother moved to Davenport, Iowa, where Venoila began working as a seamstress for William A. Bradford's. With her own money from her first paycheck she went out and bought a pair of pants. This was against her mother's wishes since ladies did not wear pants. She told her mother that it was her own money and she would be keeping the pants. Though Venoila had met Burl Cox before in Mercer, she met him again in Davenport, Iowa. They fell in love and were married on July 10, 1933. They went back to Mercer to farm, but farming during the Depression was very hard and they wound up back in Davenport with Venoila working at Bradford's and Burl working odd jobs to make ends meet until he obtained full time employment at the Bettendorf Company. She gave birth to her son, Duane, on January 20, 1943, in Davenport, Iowa, and stayed at home to raise him. During Duane's childhood, Venoila took in her mother and Burl's mother and cared for them in their old age. After Duane went to college, she went back to work at Bradford's. Her son, Duane, married Margaret Hannon on November 6, 1965, in Davenport, Iowa, adding a daughter to her life. Venoila, Burl, Duane and Margaret took several trips to
Colorado to visit Venoila's niece, Marilyn, and her family, not knowing that they would eventually move out there. After working another 14 years at Bradford's making uniforms, she retired and picked up her last paycheck on April 4, 1975, the day her granddaughter, Amy, was born in Davenport, Iowa. Venoila was tickled pink to finally have a grandchild and so was Burl. Husband, Burl, died on January 12, 1983, in Davenport, Iowa. Grandson, Ian, was born
on January 15, 1983 in Davenport, Iowa, which was the same day Burl was buried.
Having a new baby grandson to dote on helped ease the loss of Burl for Venoila.
In 1987, she made the difficult decision to move to Colorado with Duane and his family to see her grandkids grow up. After swearing that she'd never live in an apartment again, she took up residence in an apartment in Arvada, Colorado, where she stayed for 17 years. Granddaughter, Amy, married Dave Burke on June 3, 2000, in Arvada, Colorado, and the number of her grandchildren grew again.
She lived independently until March 2004 when she fell and decided that she should move into an assisted living facility. Duane, Amy and Dave found the Argyle, a renovated "Old Ladies Home", and the move began. Venoila's one-bedroom apartment was stuffed to the gills, but her family pared it all down to fit into her one-room studio at the Argyle! And the day she decided to move to the Argyle, she quit driving and sold her car, which she should have given up much earlier, but she loved her independence! Much to Venoila's delight, great-granddaughter, Grace or "Lovebug", was born February 21, 2006 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. And late in 2007, Venoila had the pleasure of hearing Grace say "Great-grandma" for the first time. Venoila loved Chili's baby back ribs and if asked where she wanted to eat, Chili's was the answer. For cheap eats, she liked McDonald's chocolate milkshakes and that was her last food request. Duane, Amy and Ian always proclaimed her homemade Mac & Cheese the best on the planet. Ian also enjoyed the Banquet frozen Salisbury steak that Grandma
always had on hand for him. No one can argue that Venoila was a strong, independent and some times feisty, well maybe always feisty, woman that loved her family, friends and God. She will be missed.


Venoila V. Cox 94, survived by loving son Duane (Margaret) Cox; granddaughter Amy (David) Burke; grandson Ian Cox; great-granddaughter Grace Burke and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation Thursday 5-8 P.M. at Newcomer West Metro Chapel 901 S. Sheridan Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80226. Funeral Service Friday 10 A.M. Fairmount Bible Church 15100 W. 48th Ave, Golden, CO 80403. Donations can be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children International Headquarters 2900 Rocky Point Dr. Tampa, FL 33607. (813) 281-0300


Services in Davenport, Iowa:

Visitation Monday 5-8 P.M. Funeral service Tuesday 10 A.M. both at Runge Funeral Home 838 Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA 52807. Interment to follow services at Memorial Park Cemetery, Davenport, IA.