NWA/DL F/O Derek Roland Cox

 

~ IN MEMORY ~

NWA/DL F/O Derek Roland Cox

December 16, 1965 - August 22, 2022

 

The recent October issue of the AIR LINE PILOT magazine notes the passing of Northwest/Delta Air Lines pilot F/O Derek Roland Cox, age 56.  Derek joined Northwest Airlines 05-04-1998 and made the merger with Delta Air Lines.  He is survived by his wife Sara and their children.

To share memories online please visit

https://www.greenwoodfuneralhomes.com/obituary/derek-cox

 

Thank you,

~ Carol for the PCN 

 

 

Obituary : arrangements in the care of Greenwood Funeral Home of Fort Worth, Texas…..

Derek Roland Cox, 56, passed away Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, in Fort Worth Texas after a long-fought battle with early onset Alzheimer’s.

 

Derek was born Dec. 16, 1965, in Fort Worth, Texas and spent his childhood in Haltom City, Texas. As he grew up, he loved and took great pride in playing baseball and football. So much so he requested to be buried with his football jersey. He always told stories about his friends in high school sports and all the great memories they shared. After high school, Derek attended the University of Texas at Arlington before transferring to Southeastern Oklahoma State University to pursue a career in flying. He always knew he wanted to be a pilot for as long as he could remember because of his many trips with his dad, Frank Roland, to Carswell Air Force Base. After completing school Derek was hired with American Eagle, Carnival Airlines, and Northwest Airlines which became part of Delta Airlines where he worked until his diagnosis. Shortly after beginning work at Northwest Airlines in 1998, he decided he was ready to “settle down” in his early thirties after many years of making very thrilling (many would say dangerous) memories with his friends in the air while off duty as commercial pilots. His idea of “settling down” involved a beautiful flight attendant that he somehow suckered into marrying him (yes, he would say that) after being stuck in the plane with her during a maintenance delay. He worked up the courage to ask her for her number while on the plane (he still has the piece of paper she wrote it on), and the rest is history. Derek and Sara were married on May 22, 1999, and their daughter Anna was born later that year. About five and a half years later, Derek and Sara had their son Gunnar which completed their family even though Derek would’ve had 10 kids if Sara would have agreed. His family always made fun of him for being like an old woman when he saw a baby, always wanting to talk to it and hold it even if it was a stranger’s child. Derek loved his family more than anything and was a great provider and protector. In his free time, he enjoyed practicing Jiu Jitsu and Tae Kwon Do in which he earned a black belt. He also loved spending time out on the lake with his friends and family and ended up living his last few years in a house on Eagle Mountain Lake where he could enjoy it right in his backyard each day. He will be greatly missed and will always be thought of anytime his family hears a loud boat engine or sees a plane fly by. Derek never thought of death as being sad, and although he loved his life, he knew that there was a better place waiting for him.

 

Derek is survived by his wife, Sara; their son, Gunnar; their daughter, Anna and her husband, Brett; his sister, Misty and her husband, Bryan, their boys Slade, Jake, Jaxon and Shane; his mother, Ginger Cox; and many more loving family members.

 

Derek was preceded in death by his dad, Frank Roland; and his grandparents, Maggie and Bob Bradley.