Ida Kathleen (Brown) Cox, 87, Springfield, MO, died at 1 am Wednesday, June 6 in Cox Medical Center South. The daughter of Edna Olive White and Joseph Addison Brown, she was born in Springfield on Jan. 24, 1925, and graduated from Greenwood Laboratory School in 1943 where she was also chosen as Fair Greenwood that year. She married Paul Warren Cox, also of Springfield on May 21, 1949 in South Street Christian Church. She attended Drury and received her Bachelor's degree in English in 1947. She and her husband Paul both taught in the public school in the Willow Springs area before moving to Chicago where he worked on graduate degrees at Northwestern University following World War II. In addition to raising two sons, she worked for many years as the executive assistant to three presidents of Kansas, Power & Light Co. in Topeka, KS. She was known for being cool under pressure, getting the job done when juggling numerous tasks and never having an unkind word. She loved to travel, pick up gifts for friends and family, and sample local cuisines. A perfect morning was often sipping coffee on her screened back porch watching and listening to the song-birds; a perfect afternoon was sipping iced-tea and savoring fresh watermelon or blueberries on a summer's day. Along with her parents and brother Hal, Kathleen grew up in the South Street Christian Church community and since retiring in Springfield, she has been a loyal member of the King's Way United Methodist community. She was active in Drury and Greenwood alumni associations and activities for more than 50 years and stayed current with her college sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, her entire life. She was also a longtime member of AAUW and participated in many other church, cultural and charitable activities her entire life. In her later years, she was particularly fond of her involvement with the Gray/Campbell Farmstead here in Springfield and volunteered hundreds of hours for many years as a docent, treasurer and president of that historic-preservation organization. She is survived by two sons, Paul Randolph and his wife Joan Carlin, Portland, OR and Joseph Brian and his fiancée Danette Higley, Topeka, KS; a sister-in-law Barbara Ann Brown of Springfield and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to her parents, Kathleen was preceded in death by her loving husband Paul, in-laws Ida Christine and Landrum Curtis Cox, a sister-in-law Marjorie Cox Abbott, a brother-in-law Landrum Curtis Cox and her younger brother Hal Joseph Brown who passed away just two weeks ago. Services will begin with a visitation Friday evening, June 8, at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 E. Seminole, from 6 to 8pm. The funeral service will be at 10 am Saturday, June 9, also at Gorman-Scharpf, and will be officiated by the Rev. Treva Hall and assisted by The Rev. Dr. Curtis Abbott. Burial will follow in Selmore Cemetery, Christian County where Kathleen's husband, brother, parents, grand-parents and many great-aunts and uncles are also buried. Memorial contributions may be made to The Gray/Campbell Farmstead or King's Way United Methodist Church.