Michael Russell Cox 

Cremation Center of Kansas City

Michael Russell Cox, age 60, passed away July 21, 2021. The days leading up to his passing he was surrounded by family and friends. He passed peacefully in his home in Paola, KS.   Mike was born June 8, 1961 to parents Levi and Patsy Cox. He was the oldest of 4 children. They were raised in Spring Hill, KS and Mike graduated from Spring Hill High School in 1979.  The family owned several acres and Mike enjoyed exploring their land. They had horses and Mike had his own horse named Sarge, he was a good, very well trained horse. Mike always cherished his memories of growing up in Spring Hill; even in his adult years he would proudly share with others the land he grew up on and stories of his childhood.   Mike had fond memories of vacations and traveling with his family. He especially liked traveling to the coast and the Grand Canyon was also one of his favorite family trips. As a young child Mike developed a love for reading, he would read anything he could get his hands on and his passion for knowledge turned him into a lifelong learner. He was wise beyond his years, even in his looks. One could easily mistake his 8th grade picture for his senior picture, by the time he was 13 he had a full beard.  As a kid, Mike played baseball and once he was old enough he switched to football. He played football for the Spring Hill Chiefs in Middle School and the Spring Hill Broncos in High School. He was very proud of earning a patch on his lettermen’s jacket for the season his team went 11-0; undefeated and unscored on!   Mike was young when he entered the workforce. His father, Levi owned several local gas stations and Mike enjoyed working alongside him. He continued working for his dad as an adult and later went onto work at GerWin vans. Then, Mike began his career at Leslie Paper Company in Olathe, KS. He worked at Leslie for about 25 years. He was a hard worker and took great pride in his work. During his time at Leslie he not only advanced in his position with the company but also made great, lifelong friends.   Mike was joined in marriage to Dianna Johnson on July 11, 1987. They were married in Hillsdale, KS. The union in marriage created an instant family, Mike became a stepfather to Tessa VanTrece and Angie Clarkson. The newlyweds had 1 night of their honeymoon alone and then it was a family vacation. From that moment on family was a priority in Mike’s life. In 1989 the family, including Mike’s youngest brother Bill, moved from Gardner, KS to their forever home in Paola, KS. The home was built in 1902, and despite the conditions at the time of purchase, Mike fell in love with it. Family and friends spent weekends and countless hours restoring and updating the home.    In 1992 Mike and Dianna welcomed their first child and only son, Wyatt Cox.  Mike became a grandpa for the first in 1993 when his grandson Jaylen VanTrece was born. Then in 1995, the couple had their baby girl Cassie Cox and she instantly had her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. In 2001, grandson Blake Pennock was born and in 2005, granddaughter Berlynn Pennock was born. Mike was looking forward to the birth of his 2nd granddaughter Alora Cox, whose due date is October 2021.   Mike loved being with his family. Family vacations were important to him and he enjoyed taking his family to St. Louis, Branson, Colorado, and Florida. Another favorite was taking his family to the Renaissance Festival in Kansas City. Mike enjoyed camping trips and of course road trips on his Harley. There were a lot of family memories made at their home with parties turned into campouts, bonfires, barbeques, shooting practice, and pool parties. He also loved attending car shows, especially the Ottawa Car Show, which became an annual tradition for Mike and all the men in his family.   He was his kids and his grandkids biggest fan; there was rarely an event he missed. Whether it was cheer, dance, football, baseball, powerlifting, wrestling, music programs, school plays, or graduations; Mike was there to proudly support his family.   In addition to spending time with his family, Mike loved reading, he also enjoyed shows about history, documentaries, and western movies. Mike’s all-time favorite movie and soundtrack was Easy Rider – he was a Harley man. His sophomore year of high school he got his 1st Harley, a Chopper and he owned 6 Harleys in his lifetime. He even made his own leather saddle bags for his Harley. Mike loved old cars, he especially loved restoring old cars. He was in the process of restoring a Rat Rod and his Rat Rod project will proudly be continued on by his family.   Mike had a passion for drawing, design, and architecture. He loved learning, making things and working with his hands; wood working and leather craft were just a couple of his hobbies or self-taught skills. He was very talented in every hobby he pursued.  Mike was the Trivial Pursuit champion of the family, everyone’s 1st pick as their “phone a friend” for Who Wants to be a Millionaire, he was our family’s version of Google; who needs Google when you can ask Mike? In our family’s eyes, he knew it all and he could do it all and he made it all look effortless; he was the epitome of the man of the family.   Mike is survived by his wife, Dianna Cox and fur baby Paisley Cox of the home. His children; Tessa VanTrece of Kansas City, MO, Angie/Bret Pennock of Paola, KS, Wyatt/Heather Cox of Garnett, KS, and Cassie Cox/Brian Lofing of Manhattan, KS.  His Grandchildren; Jaylen VanTrece, Blake Pennock, Berlynn Pennock, and the newest grandchild due in October 2021 - Alora Cox. His siblings; Allen/Tammie Cox of Osawatomie, KS and Bill/Heidi Cox of Gardner, KS. Many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.   Mike was preceded in death by his grandparents Levi and Viola Cox and Russell and Florene Vanderpool. His father Levi Cox, his mother Patsy Cox and his sister Sonia Cox. Services Services will be held on Saturday, August 14th at First Presbyterian Church in Osawatomie, KS. Visitation will begin at 11:00 a. m. a funeral service will follow visitation at 12:00 p. m and a dinner will be held at the church for family and friends following the services. Mike will be laid to rest at Hillsdale Cemetery. Memorial Contributions Michael Cox Memorial Fund Care of First Option Bank. P. O. Box B, Paola, KS 66071

When words can't fully express what we want to say, sometimes a small gift can. Visit our Memorial Store for personalized gifts, keepsake jewelry and to plant a memorial tree.

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyze site traffic.
<privacyLink>Privacy Policy</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorized as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Performance

Customize Cookie Preferences

Verification Successful!

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honor {memorialName}'s memory:

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Welcome Message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customize which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video to one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 Mementos selected visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the rest of the community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honor {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invites, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a full picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight the all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations, and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build out a family tree, and tell {firstName}' story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus. 

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial related configurations that control the display of the banner upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration  is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom Memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Cart

About 1-800 Flowers

"Flowers were beautiful and they arrived in time before the funeral. Thank you and will purchase more in the future.!"

Hearing Tears

"Beautiful flowers, I've always enjoyed sending them to my love ones for sympathy and they have always love them very much Thanks for making people feel good when receiving them."

Sympathy

"This was true to the photo and good to know family took arrangement after the service."

Beautiful arrangement.  Perfect size for service.

Some of the great things our customers say about us

We're here to make it a little easier, with thoughtful gifts for the services & home, along with expert advice on how to be there during a difficult time.

Flowers

Gift Baskets

Express Your Deepest Sympathy

About Us

Perfect Condolence Gift

No one is meant to grieve alone

Peace and love

Product is made, packaged, and sent with love

Keepsakes

How to add your gift message

Packaging Information

Shipping information

Add a Personalized Charm to the Ornament:

Other Keepsakes

Install KeeperQR onto any headstone, urn, or other memorial in minutes.

Install

Use your phone or tablet to scan the unique code — no other tools required!

Scan

All three of our elegant KeeperQR designs are printed using durable, weather-resistant aluminum designed for indoors and outdoor use on headstones and urns, memorial benches and trees, or other monuments to your loved one’s life

Built to Last

Get <discount>50% off</discount> Keeper Plus with your KeeperQR purchase

Keeper Basic

Learn About Our Plans

Connect the physical and digital worlds to share your loved one’s life story with friends and family, no matter where they are.

KeeperQR Memorial QR Code Plaques

Planting a memorial tree or bereavement tree is a unique, environmentally conscious way to pay tribute and honor the memory of your loved one. Keeper Memorials is supporting American Forests to plant whitebark pine trees as well as thornscrub trees in select regions of the US and Canada.

Memorial Trees

KeeperQR is designed to pair seamlessly with a Keeper digital memorial. Use our FREE intuitive tools to create biographies, maps, and timelines, share photos and videos, and more with customizable features built to commemorate your loved one’s life’s story.

Powered by Keeper

Lifetime without any hidden costs or subscription traps

One time payment

Keeper is SOC2 compliant, keeping your memories safe and secure.

Data protection guaranteed

We bring your QR Codes to any corner of the globe

Worldwide Shipping

Our durable and beautiful QR code plaques create seamless connection between your loved one’s physical memorial and their digital memorial, allowing visitors to their final resting place instant access to their life legacy.

Memorial.

Honor their memory, share their story

A KeeperQR is a weather-resistant plaque with a custom QR code that links directly to your loved one’s digital memorial. When placed on a headstone, urn, bench, or tree, it allows friends and family to scan and view their life story instantly

What is a KeeperQR?

They’re built to withstand outdoor elements and adhere to most surfaces.

Where can I place the KeeperQR?

How does it work?

Frequently asked questions

KeeperQR

E-Certificate Design

Plant Memorial Trees as a Living Tribute

BRAZIL

CANADA

FLORIDA

OREGON

Memorial Project Reach

Memorial trees start at {price} per tree, with discounts for multiple trees

Our Commitment

Gift Baskets & Food

Keeper Plus

QR Plaques

Keepers Featured Products

A Greener Way to Remember

Learn about our Partners:

Help Us Complete Your Order

Remembrance Store

Through your unique link, your client can sign up for Keeper and create a Memorial for a loved one. When the Memorial page is completed by the family, it will appear on your microsite and website. You will be the main Keeper Administrator of the Memorial, along with the family member that created the page.

Invite Your Clients to Create a Memorial

Invite Families

Your Email Notifications

Notifications

Email Unsubscribe Settings

Other Settings

With your active Keeper PLUS subscription, you get unlimited access to a suite of powerful features:

Allow visitors to download a local copy of all images and videos.

Download Media

Create a custom and meaningful URL, unique to your loved one, for each Memorial page.

Editable URL

Plan public or private events and invite your loved ones.

Event Pages

Add images and create profile pages to illustrate the history and genealogy of your loved one.

Family Tree

Invite unlimited administrators to help you manage every Memorial page you have.

Keeper Administrators

Visitors enjoy unrestricted access to all uploaded images and videos.

Unlimited Media

Create unlimited Memorial pages for your loved ones.

Memorial Pages

You will be able to upload Full HD videos instead of embedded links.

Video Uploading

Your Profile

Add a business user

Edit a business user

Are you sure you want to delete these users from these brands? You will need to manually add these users again.

If the user is a part of multiple brands, you will have to delete the user from each one individually

Delete Users from Brands?

Users Settings & Notifications

Users

Are you sure you want to delete these users? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Are you sure you want to delete this user? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Delete Users from all Brands?

Delete User from Brand?

Are you sure you want to delete {totalDeletes} from this user?

Delete Roles from this User?

Are you sure you want to delete this user from this brand? You will need to manually add this user again.

Delete User from this Brand?

Requires users to confirm their email every time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Guest users do not need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned ON, Guest users will need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published. They will receive an email with a confirmation link they must click.

Requires users to confirm their email only the first time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

Email Tribute Validation

If Flagged Content is turned OFF, content that has been flagged will remain public until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

If Flagged Content is turned ON, content that has been flagged will be hidden until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

Hide Flagged Content

Language

Email Notifications

Are you sure you want to delete the Memorial for {name}? This action will permanently remove the memorial from the system.

Delete Memorial?

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned OFF, Memorials will automatically be published.

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned ON, Memorials will only be published if and when you approve them. Memorials can be published or deleted in the Requests center.

Memorial Request Moderation

Moderation Settings

This will permanently delete your account. The business account, and business page will not be deleted. To deactivate your account, there must be another admin user assigned to your organization.

Are you sure you want to deactivate this account?

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, the tribute moderation settings on Memorial pages will be hidden and other Keepers cannot override the tribute moderation settings specified by your organization.

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned ON, other Keepers can view and change the tribute moderation settings of the Memorial pages they manage. (Each Memorial page will default to the organization’s tribute moderation setting upon creation.) 

Override Tribute Moderation

If the AI Content Moderation is OFF, text areas containing profane language will be published.  Tributes can however be flagged and removed at any time.

If the AI Content Moderation is ON, text areas containing profane language will not be published and the user will receive an error message.

AI Content Moderation

When Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, Tributes will automatically be published. Once published, users can flag inappropriate or spam content. You can instantly delete any Tributes published on a Memorial that you administer.

When Tribute Moderation is turned ON, Tributes will only be published if and when you approve them. Tributes can be approved or rejected in the Requests center.

Michael Russell Cox Obituary | Cremation Center of Kansas City