Wes Cox Biography
Wesley Cox Biography
I am almost 77, so it will be hard to make this short, I’ll try.
My grandparents are of German, Swiss, Finnish, Swedish, and English; I am Mongrel. Born near Chicago, moved at age 9 to Seattle, next door to my future wife Sherry, married 10 years later, graduated from the UW in 1960 in Electrical Engineering with a wife and (first son) and as an Air Force 2ndLt at age 21. Got skiis for Christmas in 1953, still skiing. My Lt years were at NASA Flight Research Center on Edwards AFB California (son 2, daughter 1) where I moved them from the analog to digital age: I bought the SDS 920 Digital Computer and programmed it, wired it up to the telemetry receiver system and managed the airborne data acquisition unit procurement, this all collected data for at least 10 years. Second as a 1stLt I was at UCLA(son 3) graduate school for MS and PhD in Engineering/Computer Graphics and SCUBA Club. Third, finally I wore an AF uniform at LA Air Force Station/Aerospace Corp. as a Capt. managing the computers and new mission control centers for Satellite Control And helped make 6 Boy Scout fiber glass canoes and then 2 for me.. Then fourth a Major to teach at the US Air Force Academy (daughter 2) with senior projects in computer graphics on a PDP-11. Then fifth to Vandenberg AFB CA to replace their 8 plotboards for missile tracking with pan/zoom graphics where I bought the computer (PDP-11) and graphics, programmed it. Lastly to Hanscomb AFB/Mitre Corp (daughter 3) near Boston to start a graphics system with a PDP-11 ( !) for intelligence analysis. And retired from the AF.
Over this 20 years my growing family was busy at Church, I was often scoutmaster or clerk and in choir, Sherry running Primary or Relief Society. We always enjoyed welfare farm/cannery assignments. At Vandenberg a Church welfare project was starting a honeybee project and 50 Acres of Ketchup (Finance Clerk) so when I retired to West Jordan I started my own bee project and have a very large garden.
In Salt Lake City I worked for Evans & Sutherland Computer Graphics Co for a year and then at Eaton-Kenway for 10 years building and using a graphics animation system for analyzing efficiency of factory/warehouse pallet and box moving systems. Downsizing sent me to GrandRapids, Michigan to do more of the same for a competitor Rapistan. There I joined the Great Lakes Chorus where we won the Pioneer District competition and so went to Internationals which turned out to be in Salt Lake City! I retired in 1999, moving into a big RV for a few years and 50,000 miles visiting children, grand children and cousins I found doing Genealogy which I had started back at the start of these last 55 years. Sang with the Rochester Hills, Mi Heart Of The Hills chorus for a year. Called together a quartet to sing “Love At Home” Barbershop light style at Church. So I returned finally to my West Jordan home several years ago to get the garden, chickens and bees going again. Enjoy many children and grandchildren visiting and graduating from BYU.
Every 3rd year I gather the family together for a week of camping, houseboat etc, this year was on the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola in several cabins and RV pads. Photo attached, one of the four Great Grand Daughters in the upper left. 3 Daughters, 3 Sons, 14 Grand Daughters and 8 Grandsons – 6 married, 4 GG Daughters. 40 Tee shirts.
The future holds free skiing at Alta in 3 years, $39 season pass at SnowBasin for now. And some canoeing. And lots of squash – more than 100 this year.
