Ronald Cox

Corning High School

Class of 1960

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Ronald Cox - Class of 1960 - Corning High School

First Name	Ronald
Last Name	Cox
Graduation Year	Class of 1960
Gender	Male
Current Location	Aurora, Colorado
Hometown	Corning, Iowa
Relationship Status	Widowed
About Me	Ron was born December 29, 1942, in a farmhouse near Corning, Iowa (also birthplace of Johnny Carson - NBC fame). He has two siblings, a sister, Arlene, three years younger, and a brother, Roger, 12 years younger. Ron and his father became licensed radio "hams" in 1956, sparking Ron's lifelong interest in communications and electronics. His brother and sister also became radio hams years later, continuing the tradition. Sister Arlene was an Elementary School Teacher at Manitowoc, WI, now retired, and brother Roger is a Senior Antenna Engineer at RAMI. This company designs and manufactures antennas for the US Government and other customers. All are graduates of Iowa State University. The farm where Ron was born was once part of a French Colony purchased by a French Icarian commune in 1850. Ron's father moved the family to his father's farm, and the family's land totaled 240 acres. He lived on the farm throughout his school years and attended a one-room schoolhouse through the 8th grade, most of the time, as the only student in his grade. He attended high school in Corning, Iowa as a vocational agriculture student. Extra-curricula activities during those years were building model rockets, camping, 4H projects, and amateur radio. Some of his early years' most memorable events were his first radio contacts from the farm, with stations in other countries, his first summer job on the wheat harvest in the West, and entering Iowa State University as the first from his family to attend college. He received a BSEE from Iowa State University in 1964. He was a member of Eta Kappu Nu (EE honorary society), the Math Club, and the Amateur Radio Club. His hobbies during those years were amateur radio, computers, and astronomy. His first job as an engineer was with Delco Radio. Soon he was responsible for Delco's Security Systems products supplied to GM plants and Diebold (Bank security systems) from 1964 to 1978. From 1978 to 1982, he was in Milford, Michigan as a Systems Engineer assigned to General Motors' Engineering Staff Powertrain (Emissions Control) Project Center. From 1982 to 1987, he was back in Kokomo as supervisor of Body & Chassis Electronics. From 1987 to 1990, he was in Santa Barbara, California, as a Department Manager for Delco Systems Operations' (DSO) Automotive Electronics. The family lived in Santa Ynez, California (at that time, it was President Reagan's address and near the homes of many other stars). He moved back to Kokomo in 1990 as an Executive Manager for all Delco Electronics Automotive product software development. He remained in that position until 1994, when he became a Process Owner in Delco Electronic's Business Process Engineering group through 1995. In 1995, he became a Product Line Manager for Powertrain's GM-NAO products, and his last job before retirement was as the Systems and Software Executive Competency Manager for Powertrain Products. His most unique assignments were seeing Dephi-Delco win its first Indy 500 race with electronics supplied for Penski race cars. Seeing the first operation of telemetry in race cars, attending a Formula One race in Montreal, Canada, and moving many of the DSO people he had worked with in California back to Kokomo! Ron married Janis (Jan) Luellen in 1966. Jan is the daughter of a Kokomo Howard County figure - Chief of Police of Kokomo 1960 and Sheriff of Howard County, Indiana, 1966 - Elwood T. Luellen. Jan's mother was the secretary at Elwood-Haynes School in Kokomo, Indiana, and Chief Deputy during the sheriff years. Ron and Jan have a son, Randy, who lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and a daughter, Raina, an interior designer in Venice, Florida. Ron's hobbies and interests are computer technology and amateur radio. He built his first home computer in 1976 and still enjoys building computers from part kits. Several years ago, the author remembers that Ron had a near-death experience when he was "felled" by a tree he was cutting! He was out of work for some time and made quite a comeback. At about that same time, his wife had surgery on her foot. However, you can't keep good people down! The two of them were quite a sight as they hobbled on their crutches around town and to various functions. Ron retired "early" after 36.8 years of service to General Motors and Delphi, February 1, 2001, about seven years before both companies went bankrupt. Ron and his wife Jan now reside in a senior living campus in Aurora, Colorado, where he spends his time as an author and an amateur radio operator. He currently owns and drives a 2019 GM Chevy EV Bolt. Ron is still trying to keep up with GM's latest in automotive technology! This information was adapted from a biography b...(read more)