Doug Cox, 59, of Knob Noster, Missouri, died Tuesday, March 31, at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, April 6, at the Knob Noster United Methodist Church with the Rev. Bryan Wendling and the Rev. Jim Downing officiating. Pallbearers will be Michael Plummer, Tom Mithee, Roger Huntsman, Steve Gunter, Aaron Ringen, William Diaz, Jerry Akins and Larry Ficken.  Honorary pallbearers will be Bryan Wendling, Jim Rosine and Art White.

The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 5, at the church.

Cremation is planned following services.

Inurnment will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri, with full military honors provided by Whiteman Air Force Base Honor Guard.

He was born March 3, 1956, in Anderson, Indiana, the son of William Emmett and Naomi (Jones) Cox.

Doug graduated from Alexandria-Monroe High School in 1974 and enlisted in the United States Air Force in November 1975. Doug was united in marriage to Kathy Crousore on March 27, 1976, in Alexandria, Indiana. His first assignment took them to RAF Lakenheath, England, where their eldest daughter, Melissa, was born. After England, the family traveled to Georgia and then Montana, where daughter Laura was born. His next assignment returned them to Indiana, followed by Australia and finally Missouri. Doug retired from Whiteman Air Force Base in 1997. He earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Central Missouri State University in 2000. Doug then began teaching fifth grade at the Crestridge School District where, over the next 14 years, he earned the love and respect of countless students, parents, and colleagues. During this he earned an MA in education from William Woods University in 2012.

Doug was highly involved in both the Knob Noster United Methodist Church and Sedalia’s First United Methodist Church. He was a lay minister for the Stephen’s Ministry outreach program through the First United Methodist Church and a valued member of the KNUMC Men’s Prayer Breakfast. Doug became involved with United Methodist camping ministries in 1997, later becoming a director of Footsteps Camp. In his 18 years of working with Footsteps, Doug led hundreds of young people to Christ. He will be remembered by his camping family as a man who could build special connections with all he met, who could help the broken to find healing, and who could deliver a sermon without speaking a word. Through camping, Doug discovered that his calling was to help and guide children, leading to his decision to become a fifth-grade teacher. Doug was fun-loving and full of laughter. He was very active and had many interests, including bicycling, running and working outdoors. He was a skilled artist and wood worker. He enjoyed jazz, praise music, IU basketball, Christmas, and spending time with his wife, their children and their grandchildren. Doug loved God and showed others the love of God through the way that he loved and helped people. He will be remembered by many for his big heart and unwavering faith. Doug was a loving and devoted husband, father and papa.

Doug is survived by his wife, Kathy, of the home; two daughters, Melissa Gerke and husband, Kevin, of Columbia, Missouri, and Laura Edwards and husband, Ben, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri; his mother, Naomi Cox, of Alexandria, Indiana; two brothers, Dennis Cox and wife, Laurie, of Raymore, Missouri; and Brian Cox and wife, Laura, of Columbus, Indiana; five sisters, Marilyn Miller and husband, Steve, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Frances Kester and husband, Larry, of Middleton, Indiana; Katie Bowman and husband, Bruce, of Wolcottville, Indiana; Marsha Tomlinson and husband, Roger, of Anderson, Indiana; and Sandy Panza and husband, Rich, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and three grandsons, Jackson and Ethan Gerke, and Michael Edwards.

He was preceded in death by his father, William Emmett Cox, on Jan. 5, 2000.

Memorial contributions are suggested to Footsteps Camp and can be left in care of Sweeney-Phillips and Holdren Funeral Home, 617 N. Maguire St., Warrensburg, MO 64093.