The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


Meet Your Neighbor

By Holly Palmer Willdrick/The Quill

 

Meet your neighbor, Eunice Cox. Eunice was born in Peoria in 1908 where she lived until a young adult.

During that time she attended Liberty School of Beauty College and ran her own shop called "Lafluer" (meaning The Flower) for a year during WWI. Eunice came for a visit to Lomax and recalls thinking that she couldn't wait to get back to Peoria, but she never made it. The community and the town grew on her.

Eunice met her first husband Edwin Carlson. They had two daughters, Sandra (Arthur) Blank and Shirley (August) Hoffman. She took a position with the Lomax Post Office as Lomax Postmaster for 26 years.

Eunice and her daughter volunteered spotting planes during WWII. She recalls a tower behind the school in Lomax where they would watch for the planes. They would use a code to report all activity and then report it to an office in Springfield. After the war they received a letter commending them for their participation and enclosed were a pair of wings.

Eunice is a member of the Lomax Christian Church. She married, Fred Cox, who she was married to for 20 years. They went to Hawaii for their honeymoon and returned to Lomax to live on his farm. After Eunice retired as Postmaster, they traveled. She loves to tell of her trip to the White House when Jimmie Carter was in office, but of course, was not at home at the time of their visit. Eunice also liked to collect pigs and she was always on the look out during their travels. She enjoyed working with flowers and every year for Halloween she would make peanutbutter fudge for the trick or treaters. She said that there were some families that she did this for three generations.

Eunice moved to the LaHarpe Davier Health Care Center six years ago this coming April. At the center she enjoys trivia, exercise, and is looking forward to the up coming King and Queen contest and Luau they will be having.

Of course her greatest joys are her family and her 6 grandchildren.