OBITUARY
If you grew up in Kirkland, chances are Everly “Ev” Cox touched your life in some way.
He spent 30 years in the Lake Washington School District, working as a “principal at large” helping get new schools up and running. He retired in 1976 and then served 14 years on the Kirkland City Council. He was also a member of the Kirkland Rotary Club for more than 35 years and served on many civic committees.
Cox passed away July 2 at Evergreen Hospice at the age of 88 after a five year battle with Parkinson’s disease. His memorial service was last Saturday at the Kirkland Congregational Church.
“He was a huge believer in public service,” said his son David Cox, who now lives in Bellevue. “It was very important to him, and he just kept doing that through the years.”
David said Ev learned his sense of civic responsibility from his father, who fought in WWI and served at various times as a postmaster, chief of police and water district chief in Wapato, Yakima County, where Ev was born on March 31, 1920.
Ev shied away from the limelight, but was most proud of his work developing the local school system and helping get City Hall put in at its current location in the 1980s, David said.
“He liked to be recognized and honored for the things that he did, but he was more happy just to see things get done. He learned that from his father,” David said.
Ev was raised in Ellensburg and attended college at Central Washington University before coming to Kirkland to begin his teaching career. He lived here for 61 years.
In 1941 he enlisted in the US Navy and served 32 years, rising to the rank of captain. He flew Catalina seaplanes in the famous “Black Cat” squadron during World War II and was a flight instructor during the Korean conflict. He logged nearly 4,000 flying hours along the way.
He met his wife, Genevieve Ona, in the house across the street from his church in 1947 and married her there later that year. They enjoyed 58 years of marriage before her death in 2005.
They raised two children, David (born 1948) and Janet (born 1949). Both children were born in the Kirkland Hospital, which was located near the current Heathman Hotel property.
