David Alonzo Cox
David Alonzo Cox, 83, of Knoxville passed away Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. He was born June 21, 1942, to Alonzo and Katherine Price Cox.
In 1962, he married his high school sweetheart, Anna Faye Wrinkle.
A devoted Christian, David was a member of Southside Baptist Church. He had a passion for ministry, and in his early years, he and Anna began a children’s church and bus ministry at Forrest Grove Free Will Baptist Church. The couple continued serving in children’s and other ministries for decades. In the early 2000s, David became an ordained minister and served as interim pastor at Wooddale Free Will Baptist Church in Knoxville.
David loved people and never met a stranger.
He and Anna owned a cleaning company, and after retirement, he worked in maintenance at The Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife, Anna Faye Cox; daughter, Kathy Ann Ellis and husband, Robert, of Gallatin; son, David Anthony “Tony” Cox and wife, Lea Ann, of Seymour; sister, Jackie Paulson and husband, Terry; grandchildren, Dustin Claxton, Abigail Ellis, Tanner Simeon-Cox and wife, Hannah, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Tyller Reganne Stevens and husband, Elijah, of Chattanooga; and great-grandchildren, Aubrey and Riley Claxton, and Olive Layne Simeon Cox.
The family received friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at Berry Highland South, 9010 Simpson Road in Knoxville. The funeral followed, with Pastor Luke Wilkerson officiating. A graveside service was held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 15.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
