Dr. David Cox, a distinguished professor of biochemistry and visionary university administrator, passes away at 89

David Cox, a retired biochemistry professor and university administrator, passed away from natural causes on October 14, 2024, at Bedford Court Healthcare Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. He was 89.

David Cox Biography?

Born in New York City, Dr. Cox grew up in Washington, D.C., and Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Reavis Cox, an esteemed marketing expert and former chairman of the marketing department at the Wharton School, and Rachel Dunaway Cox, a psychology professor and director of the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Cox attended Swarthmore public schools and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree, Phi Beta Kappa, and summa cum laude. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1960.

Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington Medical School in 1963, he was recruited by Dr. Lester Reed to join the University of Texas’s Department of Chemistry faculty. In 1973, Kansas State University appointed him to head its biochemistry department, where he focused on expanding faculty and mentoring graduate students. He taught core biochemistry and history of science courses until 1989, when he became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Retiring in 2000, he authored numerous scientific papers, including pioneering work with early computer simulations of chemical processes. He resided in Bellingham, Washington, before moving to Silver Spring in 2018.

What was hobby of David Cox?

An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Cox spent many summers rock climbing and mountaineering in the White Mountains, the Northern Rockies, and the Cascades. During academic breaks, he took his family on extended camping and backpacking trips in Rocky Mountain National Park, while weekends were often spent hiking and birdwatching in Texas’s Hill Country or the Flint Hills of Kansas.

In Fort Wayne, he earned a private pilot’s license and enjoyed weekend flights across northeastern Indiana. In retirement, he traveled extensively, visiting over 100 countries and all seven continents. A passionate theater performer, he delighted family and friends with his roles in various community and semi-professional productions, including Shakespeare Northwest in Mount Vernon, Washington, and notably starred as King Lear in Stone Town Theatre Works’ 2009 production.

Family

Dr. Cox married Joan Narbeth in Swarthmore in 1958, with whom he had three sons; she passed away in 1982. His wife of 39 years, Tamara Compton, predeceased him in 2022.

He is survived by his sons: Andrew (and wife Patricia Cooper) of Washington, D.C.; Matthew (and wife Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox) of Gainesville, Florida; and Thomas (and wife Christine Freeburg) of Chicago, Illinois; a sister, Rosemary C. Masters of Sleepy Hollow, New York; and three grandchildren.

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