Jerry William Cox, 89, of Alton, IL, passed away at 5:16 p.m. Sun. Oct. 11, 2026 at his home surrounded by his family.

He was born Sept. 19,1937 in East St. Louis, IL to the late Edward G. and Iva (Callahan) Cox.

On May 11, 1956, he and Katherine Hartline were married in Murphysboro, IL.  She survives.

Jerry worked at AirCo Industrial Gases, retiring after 25 years of service.

In addition to his wife of 70 years, he is survived by a daughter, Debra Cox of Alton, a son, Jerry "Steven" (Valerie) Cox of Norwood, MO, 4 grandchildren: Rachel (Steve) Hill, Bethany Cox, Kristen Whited and Shawn (Davina) Cox; 9 great-grandchildren: Kennedy (Gus) Baalman, Jaelyn Hill, Olivia Cox, Ian Whited, Wyatt Whited, Addilyn Cox, Dannika Whited, Sawyer Whited, Wade Cox, Georgia and Autumn; and 2 great-great-grandchildren; Liam and Reid Baalman.

Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Carl Cox, and 7 brothers and sisters.

Visitation will be Thurs. Oct. 15, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. until time of services at 11:00 a.m. at Wojstrom Funeral Home & Crematory with Rev. Dawson Brooks officiating.  Graveside services will follow at 2:15 p.m. at Walker Hill Cemetery in Grand Tower, IL.

Arrangements with online information and guestbook through Wojstrom Funeral Home & Crematory may be found at www.wojstrom.com.