My Favorite Teacher from my Tiny High School Passed Away

[CHIEF 5075]

Well, I had to trek down to Cranfills Gap today for a memorial service for my favorite teacher. I absolutely loved the guy. The "cafetorium" was standing room only. Easily one and a half times the town population. He was always very straight, and you could never tell if he was joking. His middle name was Cornelius, when he told us, we wouldn't believe him, I mean who would name their kid with a name like that. He was born on the morning of December 7, 1941, we always told him that's why the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor that day.

Mr. Cox, or Larry, when we weren't at a school function was the epitome of using every gift God gave him to teach multiple subjects at our small school. He taught history, government (civics), coached when needed, and was responsible for any electives that the school district could coerse him into. He also drove a school bus three hours a day, and I rode every mile with him in eighth grade.

He was a commercial pilot, so he taught Aviation as an elective, I was his first student to pass the Private Pilots exam, he was absolutely ecstatic. He had a few more, and one of the guys a year behind me, is now a pilot with United. He was a pretty decent guitar player, and taught a guitar class as an elective after I had graduated.

He always made any of my family functions, he attended my wedding (a two hour drive), and my father's 70th birthday. My aunt walked in, he turned to her and said, "hello Debbie." She asked him, "have we met?" He told her they had a class together at Tarleton State 32 years ago, and he remembered her. He always could remember anything, and anyone, kinda like Mac Brown remembering your name.

The service was really nice, I saw people I haven't seen for 38 years. Some you recognize, some you had to reintroduce yourself. I weigh about 60 lbs. more and now have gray hair, so I was in the introduction crowd. I was so skinny back then, I had to jump around in the shower just to get wet. It was kinda cool seeing the old school. The "cafetorium" wasn't there when I attended. They moved the tennis courts and the football field house is there now. But the best thing I saw all day was the newer "ticket booth" they had acquired:

That is the same scoreboard they had when I played there 38-42 years ago, and it was old then.

CHIEF

[Willfully Horn 7984]

Those teachers are a treasure beyond measure. Godspeed, Mr Cox.

The picture you posted reminds me of my first glimpse of Argyle’s Jr High, back in 1979, except there’s no cow grazing on the field.

[CHIEF 5075]

7 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

Those teachers are a treasure beyond measure. Godspeed, Mr Cox.

The picture you posted reminds me of my first glimpse of Argyle’s Jr High, back in 1979, except there’s no cow grazing on the field.

My deceased high school coach noticed we had problems with armadillos digging holes on that football field, a lot of our guys would turn their ankles stepping in them during games and practice. He offered a $5 bounty on any and all armadillos killed on school property. We would sit at the bus barn, which overlooked the football field and shoot them with spotlights. I used a .243, but I had a buddy that used a .270. This was in town, and the neighbors that lived close would shout, "did you get'em?"

I've told this story before, but probably the best athlete to come out of our school was a guy named Johnny Rivera, he dropped out his freshman year, and is probably dead, or in prison. His ol' man would get on a bender every weekend. At the time, we still had steel/aluminum down and distance markers and they all had a "bullseye" on top. They lived about 60-70 yards behind the field. When his Dad wasn't locked up for doing it, he would shoot the markers with a .22LR. You would hear the bullet rip through the aluminum, of course, we all would die laughing. Being a small school, the marker guys were always volunteers from town, we could only afford two officials, it got hard to find people to man them for a while. It was funny when they would break out the bullet riddled markers, the other team would get wide eyed, we always reminded them that the chains were ran on the visitors side. The visiting teams spectators would crowd in on the bottom two rows of the stands since he was shooting from a slightly elevated position. What he did would be national news today and considered a school shooter.

CHIEF

[Dilligas 666]

Wow I’ve driven through there for years on the back roads back and forth between Dallas and south Texas. Often wondered about the people who grew up there and where they were now.  Cool little place

[InkaUtexas 25820]

Just logged into Facebook to tell Joann Diaz she was the best and what she taught me in 6th grade let me go on to build a career.

[Jerry Callo 8692]

@CHIEF if you didn't give a eulogy, you should have.  Beautiful words about a guy that clearly means the world to you. 

[CHIEF 5075]

46 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

@CHIEF if you didn't give a eulogy, you should have.  Beautiful words about a guy that clearly means the world to you. 

I thought it through, but the opportunity didn’t present itself, and who am I to take the attention off of the family. I would put him in the top five men that influenced my life. 
 

I would not be a pilot if it wasn’t for him. I would not have had a job, all through college if it weren’t for him. I would not gotten home if it wasn’t for him. 
 

CHIEF

[Armybrat 40798]

Thank you for such a fine tribute Chief.

Godspeed Mr. Cox. 
You made a difference, and the world is poorer without you.

I looked this up at Wiki ……

Quote

Athletics

Cranfills Gap High School plays six-man football. At a mere 24 students it is the smallest public school playing football in Texas.^[2]

Quintessential Texas.

[CHIEF 5075]

1 hour ago, Armybrat said:

Thank you for such a fine tribute Chief.

Godspeed Mr. Cox. 
You made a difference, and the world is poorer without you.

I looked this up at Wiki ……

Quintessential Texas.

Yep. The two businesses, in town, that hired a few dozen people have either gone out of business or don’t need as many people. We usually had a two deep, now they are lucky to have enough guys to field a team. 
 

CHIEF

[Brisketexan 104915]

I thought it through, but the opportunity didn’t present itself, and who am I to take the attention off of the family. I would put him in the top five men that influenced my life. 
 
I would not be a pilot if it wasn’t for him. I would not have had a job, all through college if it weren’t for him. I would not gotten home if it wasn’t for him. 
 
CHIEF

Then write a letter to the family. Seriously, put those words on paper, put a stamp on it, and send it. I’ve gotten to where that is something I frequently do. It’s tangible, more lasting than flowers or some shit, and does something really important: it tells the family that their loved one is still alive in hearts and memories other than theirs.