Kathryn Nichole Cox

Our sweet girl, Kathryn Nichole Cox, age 27, left this world Sunday, September 1, 2024. She was born in Ashland, Ohio, on November 13, 1996 to Christopher Cox (Erica), and Candace Rau (Joshua). Katie graduated from Copley High School where she excelled at basketball and softball. Katie was a fierce competitor and loved the challenge of competition as much as she loved the games. She later discovered a love for competitive kickball, as well as any other adventure-seeking activity she could find - especially if it involved nature or her Harley! She was always a "Look at the stars!" or "Did you see that incredible sunset!?" kind of person. The beautiful things of this world were never lost on her, and she always reveled in their magic.

Since her passing, every single Katie story we have told (or has been told to us), has spoken of her great warmth, compassion, empathy, and fierce love and loyalty to her people, as well as a stranger she just met on the street. Katie was a dreamer who loved as big as she lived – the legacy of Kate's life is LOVE, fun, joy, and a desire to always leave someone better than she found them. Katie sought joy on purpose, and she lived her life showing others how to seek health and happiness for themselves. She was carefree, a wildfire of a person, and she walked through her entire life with a nothing's-going-to-stop-me mindset. Even when life tried to stop her, (as life often does for all of us), she would say, "absolutely not!" and then figure out how to rise above. We couldn't be more proud of the person she was, and our hearts couldn't be more broken at the enormous hole her passing leaves in our lives.

Over the last two years of her life, it has been a great joy to watch Katie, and her sweet, sweet fiancée Sydnee King, fall “truly, madly, deeply” in love with one another. They had the kind of love we all wish for, the kind you see in the movies. The day Katie met Syd, she came home to me and said, "Mom, I just met the woman I'm going to marry!" She said the moment they met, she felt a "zing!" go through her. She said it felt like she knew Syd for lifetimes - that they were always supposed to meet here and fall in love. They were the very best friends, teammates, partners, lovers. They spent their love finding new and exciting ways to make each other's dreams come true. They watered one another, and brought color to each other's lives. We will forever be grateful for the pure love and joy our Katie was gifted to experience, and our hearts break for Sydnee. We love you Sydnee, you are our family now too, always.

Katie is survived by her GIANT, loving family: fiancée, Sydnee King, of St. Mary's, Georgia, and their two adorable puppies Stella and Mamma Mango. In addition to her parents, Katie is survived by her siblings: Mackenzie (Cox) Selleny (John), Justin Cox (Casey), Erin Cox (Jacob), Sadie, and Levi; five beautiful nieces and nephews: Elliott (almost 5), Elena (4), Isabelle (almost 2), Dominic (1), and our newest peanut (to be named later); one great grandmother: Mamaw (Madge) Blair, of Findlay, Ohio; seven grandparents: Bill and Brenda Driscoll of Ashland, Ohio; Dave and Sue Cox of West Salem, Ohio; Rhonda and Ronnie Rau of Virginia, and, Judy (Blair) Driscoll of Findlay, Ohio...even though her heart is still in Florida, by the ocean, with Katie.

Katie also leaves behind sixteen aunts and uncles: Karen (Blair) Logan, Mary Kay and Bob Fraizer, Pat Driscoll, Vicki Driscoll (deceased), Angy and Eddie Alkire, Uncle Bubby (Chris) and Cat Driscoll, Neta Kadey (deceased), Elizabeth and Brian Dorsey, Mary Ellen and Austin Reeves, and, Matt and Jackie Kadey; and, five cousins: David Michael, Rachael, Liam, Jack, and Connor.

Family and friends whose lives Katie touched are invited to her Celebration of Life at Camp Bethany, in Lakeville, Ohio, as this was a place of many happy childhood memories for Katie and her siblings. This will be an “open house” kind of event that runs from 3 pm - dark, on Sunday, September 15, 2024. Please dress casually and comfortably for the weather, as this will be outside in a pavilion. The theme for our celebration is “Katie’s Favorite Things”; so, if you want to bring a kite, bubbles, basketballs, or softballs/baseballs and gloves, there is plenty of room at camp, and it would be a fitting tribute.