Walter Barry Cox's Obituary
Walter Barry Cox met Jesus face to face on September 12th, surrounded by his family in Rogers, Arkansas. He was born in Forrest City, Arkansas, on August 11, 1941. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Edward Cox and Laverne Rose Cox and baby brother, Billy Steve.
Walter is survived by his wife, Judi, sons John, Lance, Wesley and his wife, Alexis, son Brian, daughter Brook Clavey and her husband, Paul, and daughter Ashley Stone and her husband, David. He is survived by 16 grandchildren. He also is survived by six siblings; Kay Courtney, Bud Cox, Micky Cox, Linda Farr, Phil Cox and Connie Johnson, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Walter was the son of a sharecropper, and though he and his family were poor in money, they were rich in love. From the approximate age of nine, Walter wanted to be an attorney, and he hitch-hiked to and from college in Fayetteville, and worked full time throughout college and law school, to achieve his goal.
Walter specialized in medical malpractice defense, and he considered it a great honor to defend those in the medical profession. He was admired and respected by his peers, who considered him one of the finest trial attorneys in the state.
Though too humble to talk about it, Walter was appointed Special Justice to the Arkansas Supreme Court by Governor Asa Hutchinson and, over the course of his 54 year career, he received most every award offered to exceptional attorneys, including his induction into the American College of Trial Lawyers (1986); the Arkansas Bar Association Outstanding Lawyer of the Year (2012) award; the Lawyer of the Year (Fayetteville, Medical Malpractice Defense) award by U.S. News & World Report (2011, 2012); and the Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel Outstanding Defense Attorney award (2012-2013). He was an “AV” (preeminent) rated attorney since 1980, was a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and was regularly named in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, and Best Lawyers in the State of Arkansas (Arkansas Times).
Walter loved Jesus, and his family and country; he was a man of great faith, with complete devotion to his family. And he was a true southern gentleman, and a gentle giant. He was the sweetest man we knew, and his life produced such wonderful fruits of the Spirit.
A celebration of Walter's life will be held on September the 16th at 2:00 P.M. at Fellowship Bible Church, Fayetteville (masks required), with private internment at Fairview Memorial Gardens. For those unable to attend, a live-stream will be available at https://live.fellowshipnwa.org/. To place an online tribute, visit www.nelsonberna.com.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in memoriam to one of the following charitable organizations that Walter faithfully supported: Loving Choices, Samaritan’s Purse, and Samaritan House.
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