Jack Theo Cox

Jack Theo Cox, affectionately known as “JT”, departed this life on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at McLeod Seacoast Hospital in Little River, South Carolina.

Born on November 13, 1951,in Horry County, South Carolina, he graduated from Chestnut Consolidated High School in 1971, where he was on the basketball team.

At an early age, he accepted Christ at Chesterfield Missionary Baptist Church and this rooting served as  foundation of faith that shaped his walk through life with compassion, strength. and humility.

JT was the heart and soul of North Myrtle Beach High School (NMB), where he worked as Head Custodian for over 41 years until his retirement in 2013. To students, faculty, and parents alike, JT was a mentor, protector, and trusted friend—a steady presence whose influence shaped generations. He didn’t just clean the halls; he filled them with warmth, laughter, and wisdom. His legacy at NMB is not written in yearbooks, but in the lives he quietly touched and uplifted every day.

Outside of work, JT was a beloved family man and a legendary outdoorsman. A man who raised many children as his own, who created a home that felt like a heartbeat — alive, welcoming, and full of love.  He was a member of the Long Bay Hunting Club, Walker Farm Hunting Club, and LSD Hunting Club, where he shared his love of the outdoors and built lifelong friendships.  Fishing, hunting, and farming weren’t just hobbies, they were a way of life.  If it walked, flew, or swam, he could catch it. If it grew in the earth, he could coax it to thrive. His hands could fix anything, build anything, and grow anything. He raised animals, grew food with his hands, and somehow still had the time to cook a meal so good it made the walls want to sing.

More than the fishing and the food and the full house, JT was a good man. Not a perfect one, but the kind whose goodness showed up in the way he treated people, the way he worked hard without complaint, and the way he brought joy with him wherever he went. He was a good time and had a good time — always.

JT was preceded in death by his parents, Havanna and Wilford Cox; first wife, Lula E. Cox; brother, Roy Cox; and sisters, Dottie Livingston and Linda Vereen.

JT leaves to mourn and cherish precious memories his wife, Mabel Cox; ten children, Chaquette Gause, Titaco Cox, Gennaro Cox, Keisha Vereen, Shante Bellamy (Paul), Markell Livingston, Bryon Livingston, Stephen Wolfe (Tommersina), Toni Livingston, and Jerome Livingston; 28 grandchildren; four great grandchildren; one brother, Kenneth Cox; three sisters, Lillie Gore (Carl), Vanessa Vereen, and Charlotte Grissett (Izell); and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends. 

In honoring JT, we celebrate a life richly lived—a man who left every place better than he found it, and every person with a little more hope than before.

He will be deeply missed, fondly remembered, and forever cherished.

A viewing will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Ocean View Funeral Home and Beach Crematory, North Strand Chapel on Friday, April 18, 2025. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. at North Myrtle Beach High School on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Interment will follow in the Chesterfield MBC Cemetery.

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