Eulogy for Kaci Marye Cox (Morgan)
March 12, 2011
How do you condense a life as big as Kaci’s into 10 minutes? That’s the challenge I have this morning…
Kaci Marye Cox was born Kaci Marye Morgan on February 22, 1977 in Dallas, Texas to David and Gloria
Morgan.
Her family, growing up, consisted of 4 children – including Kaci: Kelli, Jarrod, and Jeni
Life in Texas was very simple for Kaci. She had her friends who she loved to play with. They played out in
the neighborhood all day long, playing games like hide and seek and sardines. She dreamed of being
married to the lead singer of Wham! a popular band back in the day. Unfortunately, the lead singer was
George Michael, so their fairytale romance was short lived.
A defining experience took place in Texas. Kaci’s mother passed away in August of 1985, when she was 8
years old. This made a profound impact on Kaci, and helped mold her into the wonderful person she
grew to be.
She moved to Fair Oaks, California when she was 11 years old, and lived in the area the rest of her life.
Dad remarried on March 27, 1998 to Nancy Raddatz, which brought the additions of 2 more sisters to
our family – Jenny and Traci.
Kaci married David Cox on February 13, 1998. She is the mother of 6 beautiful children: Faith, Hyrum,
Vilate, Helaman, Gloria, and Nephi. They were sealed as an Eternal Family in the Sacramento Temple on
January 5, 2008.
Kaci, like her mother, was very creative. She was able to make the cutest toys and gifts out of seemingly
nothing. She sewed, she cooked, she created, she shared. Kaci was also a very strong believer in
traditions, and created many that will live on in the Cox family for many, many years. She loved
Christmas Caroling, Christmas Kick-Off’s, and opening night Midnight viewings of Harry Potter and
Twilight.
Another defining moment in Kaci’s life was when she was diagnosed with Small Cell Cancer on May 29,
2009. The original diagnosis was 8-13 months with the best care. Kaci beat the odds time and time
again, and fought back the disease for 22 months.
Kaci never intended to be an inspiration, in fact, she strongly believed that she wasn’t, or shouldn’t be;
however, many of you here have grown to love Kaci through the experiences she and her family have
gone through over the last couple of years.
In reading through some of Kaci’s thoughts, I’ve seen 3 mottos that Kaci chose to live by. I think they
define who Kaci was and is and can be for each of us.
1. Love the Road You’re On!
a. In a talk Kaci gave in Stake Conference last year, she said, “Think about how it must have
felt up in the spirit world when Heavenly Father said, “I would like you to go down and I
would like you to experience life.” And we cheered. We knew there would be trial and
temptations. We knew there would be terrible things that we would have to go through,
but we cheered. We were excited. We can have those same feelings here and now when
we are going through trials. We can love the road we’re on and remember where it
leads.”
2. Be Happy!
a. Again, to quote from Kaci’s talk…“We can choose to be happy or we can choose to be
grumpy. We can choose to appreciate the experiences that we have here or we can
choose to be angry about them and “kick against the pricks” and fight against
things…Many of you know that 9 months ago I was diagnosed with a pretty nasty form
of cancer. Talk about an opportunity to prove myself. I have had lots days where I wake
up in the morning and think, “Why is this happening to me? I was good. I went to
church. I have a big family with lots of children that I am supposed to take care of. I have
a testimony.” But I learned that that kind of an approach didn’t accomplish very much
and instead, I have tried to remind myself that I am going to be able to make it through
this trial with the help of my Heavenly Father.
It’s not really about the trial, you see – what the trial is and what it means for us here
and now – it’s about how we approach it, how we deal with it and how we decide to feel
about it. I decided after I was diagnosed that I wasn’t going to let this get me down. That
even though I was not supposed to beat this, I would live with it for as long as I live…
and that I would be happy during that time, that I could be learning things, that I could
teach my children many things that they might not learn another way. Certainly I
wouldn’t have chosen this path. I would have preferred to have a nice easy straight
road, but then where is the faith? How would I learn those things?”
3. Trust the Lord!
a. Excerpts from Kaci’s Blog (2009 – 2011): Kaci wrote, “I am so grateful to the Savior – My
Savior. I am struggling with my heath right now, but my testimony is growing in leaps
and bounds. I know that my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have a plan for me and
my family. I know that regardless of what happens with y life – weather I live to be 80+
or die in just a few months – the Lord will take care of me and my family. The kids will
be fine. They will learn from this whole experience. Their faith will grow and they will
gain testimonies of their own. David will also grow and become a better man. I will be a
better mom and wife to all of them. There is a purpose for this trial and I intend to gain
everything I can from it.
“I know that Heavenly Father loves me and the He loves my family and that He knows
who we are. And I know He wants what’s best for all of us. I know that He knows all of
you. And I am so grateful for all the support that I have. I am very blessed and regardless
of the trials that I am given, I know that Heavenly Father loves me.”
Kaci was different things to each of us – a delightful friend, a happy smile, a daughter, a sister, a mother,
a sweetheart. Each of us has memories of Kaci that will strengthen and sustain us.
Kaci never wanted to be an inspiration or example, but she was and will be. How could we not admire
her faith and strength? Though, in her eyes, Kaci was just living the life she was given – loving the road
she was on – to us, she was, and always will be, a pillar of faith and strength.