"As
you walk down
the
fairway of life
you
must smell the roses,
for
you only
get
to play one round"
Ben
Hogan
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As
most of you know, Gary was diagnosed with melanoma
in September of 2006 and passed away on October
20, 2006.
Gary
loved the game of golf both as a player and fan.
During his brief illness and the days he was able
to be in our home in Rancho Mirage, he would watch
the numerous improvements being made to our golf
course, especially the new hole on the 15th fairway
right outside our front door. Gary was excited
about opening day and the upcoming golf season
(his 1st after his semi retirement from Printronix).
Unfortunately, Gary did not play golf on opening
day.
As
was a tradition for 20 years, Gary and I always
visited the Palm Springs area to celebrate his
birthday and attend the Bob Hope Classic. Throughout
the years we shared this event and its many memories
with our dear friends Karen, Doug, Dennis, Vicky,
Mike, Vicki and Sherry to name a few.
On
Sunday afternoon, January 2007 I was sitting with
Doug and friends on the 4th hole of the Bob Hope
Classic. Enjoying a bloody mary and thinking of
Gary, out of the blue I looked at Doug and asked
him if he might be able to get together a foursome
and play a round of golf for Gary at the Rancho
Mirage Country Club. I will never forget Doug's
look and words. "Jan we will put together
a golf tournament in memory of Gary. Karen has
done it before and will help." Poor Karen
was out on the golf course keeping score for the
pros, unaware of the commitment Doug had just
made. Thus Gary's tournament was started.
I
want to take this opportunity to give a huge thank
you to Karen and Doug, the generous sponsors,
players, volunteers, our many friends, and last
but not least our children and family (who I am
sure felt I had lost my mind) for their support.
Together we raised over $30,000.00 for critical
melanoma research and to help heighten melanoma
awareness.
We
are looking forward to seeing you on the greens
at the 2nd Annual Gary D. Cox Memorial Golf Tournament,
raising money to provide hope for people and families
fighting melanoma.
Best
regards
Jan Cox and family
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